Posted on 12/05/2002 1:26:59 PM PST by pabianice
WORCESTER, MA -- Karen-Lee Murray let out some of her anger at yesterday's announcement of the Goods for Guns buyback program.
Ms. Murray's son, who was 16 at the time, was tied up with duct tape and had a gun pressed to his temple for almost an hour during an assault last year. The event has hurt his state of mind, she said.
“It's unacceptable that this could happen to a kid,” Ms. Murray said after the press conference. “Not every gun will be off every street but some will be out of the hands of kids.”
Ms. Murray said the incident has forced her to move from Worcester County.
Yesterday, UMass Memorial Health Care and the Worcester Police Department announced that they will hold the gun buyback program from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 21 in the lobby of police headquarters at Lincoln Square.
Gift certificates to local businesses will be given for every operable gun turned over to police. Firearms must be unloaded and wrapped in bags. Police said that there will be no questions asked and anonymity will be ensured.
Heading the program from UMass Memorial is Dr. Michael P. Hirsch, head of UMass Medical Center's pediatric trauma center, who initiated a similar program in Pittsburgh nine years ago. Gang violence had escalated in that city, prompting action.
“A gang war in 1992 was having a huge impact on the adolescent population,” he said. “We felt we needed to do something about it. Since then 7,200 guns have been collected.”
At yesterday's conference, Capt. Paul Campbell and Sgt. Gary J. Quitadamo, said they hope that 100 to 200 guns will be turned in.
“We have an arrangement with a scrap metal dealer to get rid of them,” Capt. Campbell said. “We bring them there and stay with the operator until they chop up every single weapon.”
Sgt. Quitadamo noted the death of Officer Lawrence M. Jupin, who died Friday, 3.5 years after he was shot on duty.
“He was shot with a handgun,” Sgt. Quitadamo said. “More guns off the street will make it a little bit safer.”
According to firearm statistics compiled by the Police Department, in Worcester there have been 467 gun-related incidents in 2002. In 2001, there were 491.
Dr. Hirsh said that in the last 10 years, 188 people were admitted to the trauma unit with gunshot wounds and 39 were fatal. He said that in that same span, 25 children under the age of 14 were admitted to the pediatric unit.
“There were many instances where victims said that five or six guns were brandished at a scene,” he said. “The brandished guns are not always fired but it shows the access they have.”
Capt. Campbell said that the most popular guns out on the street are .38-caliber automatics and 9 mm automatics. He said that a number of rifles get turned in, and that retired people who don't have use for a handgun also use the program.
The buyback program is a collaboration between the Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Worcester, UMass Memorial Children's Medical Center, UMass Memorial Trauma Center and the Police Department.
UMass Memorial Health Care and the Worcester PD sell guns? Wow, that's news to me!
This discriminates against the poorest of the poor, who may not have guns to turn in for gift certificates. I think the poor should be armed with cheap handguns so they can participate, too.
Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, it has a dark side (obviously seen in this story) and it holds the universe together.
God Save America (Please)
According to firearm statistics compiled by the Police Department, in Worcester there have been 467 gun-related incidents in 2002. In 2001, there were 491.
So, if I'm reading this correctly, this type of program doesn't work. Why can't they focus on keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, and keeping those criminals behind bars, rather that PAYING them for turning in their illegal guns? Does anyone think that the $50 is going to go towards Christmas presents or something? More likely it will go towards crack and/or the purchase of a new illegal gun.
About the only criminals who would turn in a gun are those who want to get rid of a broken or junky gun.
Also that phrase "get them off the street" is repeated so often that I finally thought about it. They think these guns are just lying around on the street, or maybe prowling around like stray cats trying to see who they can shoot.
Neal Boortz has had a statistician friend work the problem and has determined that to save ONE life requires buying back over 26,000 guns!
Then, nobody ever said the people who do come up with these goofy buy-backs were smart.
And, what the hell, they’re not spending THEIR money!
The truth is that if 26,000 guns were turned in there would probably be several more people die from crime because they were unarmed. The idea that turning in guns would keep any criminal from possesing one is nuts.
Are there any such laws that are being violated here?
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