Posted on 08/15/2009 9:48:41 AM PDT by marktwain
While a teen struggles to survive a shooting, the city tries to get guns off the streets. But do gun turn-in programs really work? Taccara Swain, 15, was shot in the head three times Wednesday night. Police say she is an innocent victim who was trying to shield a young relative from the bullets.
It's this kind of tragedy the city of Chicago is trying to stop with a gun turn-in program this weekend. But are events like that effective? CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports that the continuing carnage in our streets suggests otherwise.
That 15-year old was reportedly caught in gang crossfire. As long as gangs control hundreds of millions of dollars by selling illegal narcotics here, they'll always be able to buy big firepower.
Illinois Gun Works Owner Don Mastrianni claims that Chicago's program to clear its street of guns by offering to buy them and melt them down has probably not prevented even one killing.
"Criminals aren't going to bring in their guns," Mastrianni said.
When asked if any murders have been prevented, Mastrianni said, "No. Not at all. Not in the least."
Mayor Daley today announced a new version of his long-running gun-buying program. This weekend, those who turn in weapons will receive debit cards worth up to $100 in exchange for an assault-type weapon.
"Now think of that. Here's the mayor of the city of Chicago asking people to turn in assault weapons," Mayor Daley said. "We're not in Iraq. We're not in Afghanistan. We're in America. We're asking 'em to turn in assault weapons. What do we need an assault weapon in America for?"
Among those who doubt that Daley's decades of gun-control efforts have made Chicagoans any safer: a police officer. He talked to CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman at the scene of yesterday's gang crossfire that left an innocent 15-year old girl critically wounded.
When asked if gun control would keep guns away, Officer David Montgomery said, "No, 'cause the underground market. You can always get the guns. There's the underground market out there. What can you do about it?"
One thing not worth doing, according to Mastrianni, is buying old weapons off the street.
"They're not really solving any crimes, and they're not really preventing anything. They may think they are. And I feel for them, because I believe they're frustrated," Mastrianni said.
Frustrated doesn't begin to describe Daley's mood in the face of all the gun violence. He bragged today that, since 2005, the city's gun-buying program has led to the destruction of more than 18,000 guns. Still, that's small comfort to the thousands of Chicagoans who continue to get shot each year.
... and the cops add to their personal gun collections ...
DO BEARS PREVENT FORREST FIRES?
But, that's not who they care about at all.
He is especially stressed these days, it seems some Obama voters have taken to prowling the Lincoln Park neighborhood to committ assault and robbery on pedestrians. This is serious business alot of white libs live there, and they do not want to have to move back to the North Shore to be safe in their undying proclamations of love for liberalism, and they would take a bath on the resale. So Dick Daley is grasping at straws while another Democratic city implodes, soon to be the New Detroit. I expect one day to wake up and see smoke in the East as Chicago burns and the refugees stream out to my burb.
Innocent victim shot three times in head...trying to shield a young relative from the bullets. Wait a second.
A three shot group into an area the size of a head takes a lot of attention even at point blank range. And when a head is hit by bullets, it tends to move, being connected to the body. This tells me that unless she was lying down, somebody very intentionally shot her from a short distance away, and continued to aim and shoot her after she moved.
Something is very wrong with this story.
Of course they do, they keep grandma from shooting the thugs breaking into her house a week after she turned her only gun in.
(FR is verrrrrry slow today.)
A three shot group into an area the size of a head takes a lot of attention even at point blank range. And when a head is hit by bullets, it tends to move, being connected to the body. This tells me that unless she was lying down, somebody very intentionally shot her from a short distance away, and continued to aim and shoot her after she moved.
hey when you can take a gas pipe in and a 2x4 and make it look like a gun and some dufas gives you $100.00 that a good deal!
Boortz did a study of the stats for gun buy backs and found that it takes 65,000 guns to prevent ONE gun-related death.
Hardly cost effective, especially sinct THAT death — as are MOST of them — is almost certainly drug or gang related folks offing one another.
I’d say THAT comes under the heading of a public service.
In Chicago shootings have a cause other than firearms.
Perhaps multiple shooters firing at the same time?
Whatever. It's a moot point. Witnesses to these types of crimes always leave out details, if they speak to detectives at all.
I knew a guy who used to buy the chinese air guns that looked like AK’s . He’d get them wholesale for 15 dollars each, and take them to the gun buy backs. The people running the programs didn’t know the difference!
IMHO, I would think it depends TOTALLY on what kind of example the "organizers" and leaders promoting the program set.
These gun buyback programs were the forerunners of cash for clunkers. Gun buybacks provided the illegal gun owner with a nice down payment on a newer and deadlier model.
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