Gun Buybacks a Wasteful Ruse
by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor

	The futility of placing one's hopes in wishful thinking are
summarized in the old saying, "If wishes were horses, beggars would
ride."

	The wisdom of that expression is centuries old. So old, in
fact, that few people, regardless of wealth or status, rely on horses
for transportation anymore. Yet politicians, media pundits and other
supposedly educated adults still believe that wishing for something
will make it happen.

	Nowhere is the absurdity of attempting to achieve public
policy objectives through wishful thinking more apparent than in the
gun buyback programs which are sweeping the country. The rationale for
these buybacks is that by removing some firearms from private
possession, the general public will be safer.

	This concept is flawed for several reasons.

	First, it assumes erroneously that if there were no guns,
there would be no crime. As an offshoot of this reasoning, it is
assumed that crimes or accidents will be reduced in proportion to the
number of guns removed from private possession. Thus, proponents of
the buybacks believe that "if only one gun that is removed from
circulation, prevents a crime or accident, the program is worth it."

	So far, thousands of guns have been removed from private
possession by buybacks and amnesty programs in cities and states
across the country, but there is no evidence that crimes or accidents
have been reduced in any measurable amount as a result.

	Second, it assumes that anyone who want to own a gun will be
discouraged from doing so by an offer of money, or goods, or other
incentives. Quite the contrary has been the experience in every
community which has conducted a buyback program: the people who turn
in guns are the ones who don't know anything about them, are afraid of
them, and have no use or desire for them. No one who values a firearm
for legal or illegal purposes turns in a gun in any program, unless
there is another reason.

	The list of other reasons is rather long.

	People have surrendered guns that are useless for a cash
exchange, thus making a profit. In some cases, this "selling up" can
be quite useful, particularly to dealers or collectors who have a lot
of junk to get rid of. Indeed, in many cases, one could go out and buy
a number of guns that are worth much less than the reward, and even
realize a one-hundred percent mark-up.

	Others have turned in broken or worthless guns for cash to buy
other guns for criminal purposes. We reported an incident in Gun Week
in which some youths in Camden, NJ, turned in a broken shotgun for $50
which they used to buy a handgun from someone who was being encouraged
to get rid of it, only to use the handgun in a robbery-murder. In this
incident, the wishful thinking of the gun buyback program had the
opposite effect of its purpose. A gun which could not even be used in
a crime was removed from the hands of a criminal only to be replaced
with one which cost a life.

	From Ohio comes news of a different failing of the gun buyback
programs. Most of them include an amnesty; no questions are asked, or
names taken from the people surrendering the firearm. Thus, a criminal
who had just committed a crime with a gun, turned it in for a reward,
and also got rid of evidence of the crime.

	In Brooklyn, a man who had stolen guns in New Jersey, turned
them in a few at a time to safely "fence" his loot to the authorities.
The practice was only discovered after some 20 guns had thus been
turned in by the same person. But the amnesty and buyback program
proved to be rewarding crime.

	In most cases, however, guns which have been stolen and turned
into a buyback/amnesty program are never traced. Thus, those who would
like their stolen guns back and who would like the criminals
prosecuted for stealing them are denied both the return of the guns
and the satisfaction of seeing the thieves prosecuted.

	Still another failing of the buyback systems is that they
cheat people, often widows and widowers on limited incomes, of the
true value of their property. There have been countless instances
where promoters of the buybacks have implied that the guns people
don't want are worthless and the few dollars paid in cash or goods are
a worthwhile exchange when in fact the guns might be worth thousands.
Seldom do the promoters of such buyback programs suggest that the
owners of unwanted firearms have them appraised by a dealer first, so
that they can not only get rid of something they don't want, but can
also realize a useful cash benefit.

	
Ultimate Buyback

	There is only one way in which gun buybacks could be expected
to reduce the likelihood of their use to commit crimes or inflict
injury through accidents. That is to apply the same strategy that
would be needed to eliminate criminal use and accident injuries from
motor vehicles. Get rid of all guns and motor vehicles.

	Of course, people will be back on horses and criminals will be
using other weapons and conveyances to inflict harm on others.

	Sen. John Chafee (R-RI) has already suggested that all
handguns be removed from private possession by means of a national
buyback followed by confiscation. The problem with Chafee's idea is
that there still would be a lot of handguns in private possession due
to massive civil disobedience, especially among the criminal
community. He would have to escalate his program to later include a
buyback of rifles and shotguns which could be cut down for criminal
concealment. The cost of the handgun program alone is more than Chafee
can imagine, and the cost of carrying it out further to include long
guns, would be astronomical.

	If we followed Chafee's plan, we would be bankrupt as a
nation, subject to the tyrannies of both the government which would
control all arms in violation of the constitution, and forever fearful
of the criminals who would still have weapons of all kinds.

	Various communities are still trying buybacks and raising the
stakes as they go. It used to be just cash payments. Then it became
theater and sporting event tickets, running shoes, toys, food
certificates and other merchandise. In one New York City program, the
combination of cash and toy certificates upped the turn-in bounty to
as much as $175 a gun. Even that higher price failed to remove a
significant number of the 2 million guns estimated to be in private
hands in the city.

	Curiously, a recent 10% discount offer from an automatic
transmission company in Orange County, CA. collected just 10 guns
rather than the 1,000 that had been anticipated. Apparently, only 10
people with unwanted guns also needed transmission repairs that week.

	But nowhere has the whole buyback concept gone so wrong as
Connecticut. There, the government and state lawmakers, established a
statewide buyback program funded from the state budget and
supplemented by merchandise and gift certificates donated by
businesses.

	Now the state is out of money and the merchandise is not
available and people are dunning the state for the money they are owed
for turning in guns. The Connecticut Post of Bridgeport reported on
Mar. 24 that one man was stilled owed $1000 from the program conducted
in February, and that he was only one of thousands who believed the
state has weaseled out of the deal.

	Under the Connecticut deal, people would get $50 for turning
in a non-working gun at the low end up to $500 for an "assault
weapon." Generous, perhaps, but foolhardy. On March 31, the
Connecticut Post reported that the state had agreed to use between
$100,000 and $200,000 in state funds to bail out the gun buyback
program, for guns already surrendered.

	As always, when the politicians make a mistake, it's the
people who pay. If you were a Connecticut citizen and wanted to buy
guns, you'd have been better off without having the government as a
middleman. Then, at least, you'd have something to show for your
money.

	Despite all of these failings, wishful and misguided
politicians, the media and community leaders keep proposing and
launching more and more expensive and useless buyback programs all
across the country, and merchants seek publicity with their gift
certificates. It would be interesting to know how many millions have
already been cast down this futile rat hole, and how many millions
more will be needed before the public realizes that they've been
scammed through faulty thinking and outright chicanery. All because
someone wished there were no guns or crime.