FL: Pompano Beach has competition for first gun turn in, 2013

[Dean Weingarten]

Some of the guns turned in. cbsmiami

In this story from CBS Miami the reporter mentions that 124 guns were collected, and that $9,000 of Walmart gift cards were distributed. That amounts to less than $73 per firearm. With a little bit of work, though, we find that there is more to the story.

From ar15.com, a discussion among members shows that there were plenty of private buyers at the event:

Lots of folks on corners with "CASH 4 GUNS" signs.

Many of these turn in events are finding competition these days. Now it appears that the MSM has found a way to minimize the protests. Simply do not mention it. Here are a number of links for other events that featured private sales:

NM:More than 300 guns sold at sheriff buy back event(and private sales!)

PA:Gun Buyback Met With Competition In Bensalem.

Outside, a group of gun advocates set up a table offering a better price to people carrying high-quality weapons.

Second Gun Buyback Nets 42 Weapons

Also in front of the church were people offering to buy the guns off of people before they reached the buyback event.

ANGRY WHITE DUDE ATTENDS GUN BUYBACK COUNTER EVENT IN DALLAS

NM: City’s gun buy-back program nets hundreds of weapons

Outside the police station, a group of four or five men gathered to offer cash to people who were bringing guns in.

Gun buyback in Cincinnati collects 135 weapons

The Cincinnati Enquirer (http://cin.ci/W41mWY ) reports that a federally licensed gun dealer showed up to provide some competition. He bought a dozen weapons for $40 to $100 by standing outside the church with a sign that read “Cash 4 Guns.”

Several good deals made at Lansing Gun Turn in

MI:100+ Guns Turned in for Gun Buyback

Just outside where the buyback program was being held pro gun activists were offering cash for guns.

NMolice harass legal buyers at Santa Fe Gun Turn In

Seattle has gun Turn in, Private buyers save guns

Tucson Gun Turn in - First Hand Account

AZ:Former Senator Offers Better Alternative to Gun Turn In

A Reader Reports from the Hartford CT Gun Buyback

Cleveland Gun Buyback Program Attracts Buyers Offering Cash for Guns (VIDEO) (OH)

The Detroit PD Doesn’t Like Competition(MI)

Gun-buying enthusiasts crash firearms ‘turn-in’ event at Memorial Coliseum(OR)

©2013 by Dean Weingarten Permission to share granted as long as this notice is included.

http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2013/04/pompano-beach-has-competition-for-first.html

 

[Deltaboy1984]

WOW.

 

[rgwalt]

In reading through your headlines, I noticed that Dallas had a gun turn in event? That makes me sad... If it can happen there, it can happen here in Houston, or in Austin (though I'm surprised they haven't had one yet). If one is conducted here in Houston, I will attend and try to rescue some guns, then maybe get a table at the next gun show!

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Everytime I read about one of these events, I am tempted to post this:

National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council,
"Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review" (2004)
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10881&page=95

Gun Buy-Backs

Gun buy-back programs involve a government or private group paying individuals to turn in guns they possess. The programs do not require the participants to identify themselves, in order to encourage participation by offenders or those with weapons used in crimes. The guns are then destroyed. The theoretical premise for gun buy-back programs is that the program will lead to fewer guns on the streets because fewer guns are available for either theft or trade, and that consequently violence will decline. It is the committee’s view that the theory underlying gun buy-back programs is badly flawed and the empirical evidence demonstrates the ineffectiveness of these programs.

The theory on which gun buy-back programs is based is flawed in three respects. First, the guns that are typically surrendered in gun buy-backs are those that are least likely to be used in criminal activities. Typically, the guns turned in tend to be of two types: (1) old, malfunctioning guns whose resale value is less than the reward offered in buy-back programs or (2) guns owned by individuals who derive little value from the possession of the guns (e.g., those who have inherited guns). The Police Executive Research Forum (1996) found this in their analysis of the differences between weapons handed in and those used in crimes. In contrast, those who are either using guns to carry out crimes or as protection in the course of engaging in other illegal activities, such as drug selling, have actively acquired their guns and are unlikely to want to participate in such programs.

Second, because replacement guns are relatively easily obtained, the actual decline in the number of guns on the street may be smaller than the number of guns that are turned in. Third, the likelihood that any particular gun will be used in a crime in a given year is low. In 1999, approximately 6,500 homicides were committed with handguns. There are approximately 70 million handguns in the United States. Thus, if a different handgun were used in each homicide, the likelihood that a particular handgun would be used to kill an individual in a particular year is 1 in 10,000.* The typical gun buy-back program yields less than 1,000 guns. Even ignoring the first two points made above (the guns turned in are unlikely to be used by criminals and may be replaced by purchases of new guns), one would expect a reduction of less than one-tenth of one homicide per year in response to such a gun buy-back program. The program might be cost-effective if those were the correct parameters, but the small scale makes it highly unlikely that its effects would be detected.

In light of the weakness in the theory underlying gun buy-backs, it is not surprising that research evaluations of U.S. efforts have consistently failed to document any link between such programs and reductions in gun violence (Callahan et al., 1994; Police Executive Research Forum, 1996; Rosenfeld, 1996).

Outside the United States there have been a small number of buy-backs of much larger quantities of weapons, in response to high-profile mass murders with firearms. Following a killing of 35 persons in Tasmania in 1996 by a lone gunman, the Australian government prohibited certain categories of long guns and provided funds to buy back all such weapons in private hands (Reuter and Mouzos, 2003). A total of 640,000 weapons were handed in to the government (at an average price of approximately $350), constituting about 20 percent of the estimated stock of weapons. The weapons subject to the buy-back, however, accounted for a modest share of all homicides or violent crimes more generally prior to the buy-back. Unsurprisingly, Reuter and Mouzos (2003) were unable to find evidence of a substantial decline in rates for these crimes. They noted that in the six years following the buy-back, there were no mass murders with firearms and fewer mass murders than in the previous period; these are both weak tests given the small numbers of such incidents annually.

*In 2011, approximately 6,220 homicides were committed with handguns. There are approximately 112 million handguns in the United States. Thus, if a different handgun were used in each homicide, the likelihood that a particular handgun would be used to kill an individual in a particular year is 1 in 18,000.
--figures updated to 2011 statistics

 

[Dean Weingarten]

The purpose of "buybacks" is not to reduce crime.

The very name given to these turn in programs shows their nature. No guns are actually "bought back" because they were never owned by the buyers in the first place.

The term "buyback" implies that all guns are owned by the government, and that the government just lets some people have some guns for some of the time. It is a pure Owellian term.

A more correct term is "turn in".

The major purpose of these events is propaganda. They are designed to delegitimize gun ownership and armed citizens.

That is why the presence of private buyers throws a monkey wrench into the works.

Private buyers show that guns are legitimate, and valued.

Those who show up at these event to purchase arms brought in, are helping protect our Second Amendment rights by maintining the legitimacy of gun ownership in the public mind.