Posted on 04/28/2007 7:08:18 AM PDT by holymoly
Cops waited. TV crews waited. And church officials standing under the broiling sun in South Los Angeles waited, hoping Angelenos would come and surrender their guns.
They got only one — but it was an SSK assault rifle, along with enough ammunition to blow away 59 bystanders.
"You would not believe what we got," exclaimed LAPD Officer Brian Hun of the Southwest Division. "It's like catching the big one."
With the 15th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots approaching, ministers from the First AME Church asked residents to hand in their guns during a commemorative Weekend of Peace.
The region — with four homicides, 23 people shot and 40 gunfire reports in the Southwest Division between March 25 and April 21 — is among the most violent in the city.
It's also among the poorest, with few new jobs created.
For this reason, First AME hosted a gun-surrender program coupled with a massive job fair and food giveaway.
"Turn in your piece for peace," said the Rev. John Joseph Hunter, senior pastor of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church. "Violence is something that plagues (this) community.
"With a job, dignity is restored."
Los Angeles is often described as a city divided between haves and have-nots. But for some, it's a city split between those who have guns and those who haven't.
Few expected those with "dirty guns" — or weapons used during a crime — to turn them in. And few expected those whose guns remain the final bastion behind steel security doors to hand over their protection.
"People want to protect themselves; that's why they have guns," said Amelia Quinn, 39, of Los Angeles, a seeker at the job fair. "If somebody steps in your house, shoot on sight."
Today, First AME will host a Dialogues in Peace forum to discuss race relations, education and the economy since 1992.
"You haven't changed the conditions, the mind-sets, the hearts," Hunter said. "You've gotta offer hope. A job offers hope."
To thwart gun violence, the Rev. Eduardo Vickers said, society must convince the young.
"Get them while the clay is soft — you've got to mold them," he said, watching residents line up half a block for food. "The key is love, what the world needs is love, more love."
But for Los Angeles police, what the world needs is fewer guns. The Chinese-made SSK assault rifle with two, 30-round banana clips was dropped off by a dad whose son had long ago left it at his house.
It was the only gun relinquished in three hours of waiting.
"If we can take one gun off the street, it's worth it," said Hun, a senior lead officer for the area. "If a gangster wanted to do a drive-by, it's the ultimate weapon."
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Dana Bartholomew, (818) 713-3730 dana.bartholomew@dailynews.com
Did it ever occur to these liberal idiot cops that the only reason this weapon was turned in was because that same person has something newer and nastier at home?
>>You can bet that one gun wasn’t turned in by a Korean shop owner.
Here, let’s include this. Worthwhile, if you haven’t seen it:
LA Riots: The Korean Perspective
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfmEjIJyDT8
Somebody give that right thinking woman a job.
Chinese SKS are running about $200 for the common commercial version, used in ecellent condition. More for the shorty “para” and the version that takes AK mags...
7.62x39 ammo is up to about $160 per 1,000 round case.
The only thing that I cannot believe is just how ignorant you and this reporter are.
You appear to be discussing an SKS (not an SSK), a very inexpensive semiauto imported in vast quantities from China. Your hyperbole in this case is completely over the top particularly in regard to such a ridiculous waste of taxpayer money. And then for your pathetic activity to actually be presented as serious news by any "news organization" can only invoke derisive laughter.
This is unreal, whats next, calling airsoft guns weapons of mass destruction?
Both ARs and each mag over 10 rounds are feloneys in Kali
“If we can take one gun off the street, it’s worth it,”
The implication is here, of course, that every gun is eventually used to kill someone. This isn’t even true of every weapon carried by our military.
Now that THE “assault rifle” has been taken off of the streets of LA, I guess we can assume there will be no more drive bys.
“I bought by two SKS rifles for $90 each ten years ago and I got a can of 1000 rounds for an additional $20 (enough ammo to take out 999 bystanders and 1 reporter!). What are they going for today?”
www.gunbroker.com
That explains it! Now I understand the LAPD's excitement!
Yeah, but can you get ammo for that thing at the local WalMart? ;-)
No, butI can’t get .50BMG at Wally World either so it doesn’t make any difference ;~)
I never cease to be amazed at how lazy AND stupid these so-called “journalists” can be And obviously, their editors are no brighter...
Wow - an SSK assault rifle... Did they invent the weapon, or is the writer dyslexic?
How many folks think that any weapons actually in the hands of the real “bad guys” get turned in at those disarming fiascoes known as “buy backs” or “roundups”? Further - how many are stolen, maybe some even specifically for the payout? The government acting as fence is illegal, isn’t it?
...he told his hunting buddies on his cell phone as he tucked the gun into the trunk of his car.
Anyway, what IS an SSK? If it's something new - then I gotta me one!
The same riots where LAPD retreated, leaving citizens at the mercy of criminals? The same riots where Korean merchants defended their stores with so-called "assault rifles"? Anyone with half a brain will keep their weapons for the next time the police "cut and run" when the there's a riot or natural disaster.
Tin foil time.
I wonder if, after two hours of waiting around with reporters and cameras around, someone was sent to dig up some old piece of crap so they could claim the buy-back was a success. Seems an odd choice to bring in.
That said, I imagine the weapon was no more dangerous in the owners closet than at the AME church.
/tin foil hat
They got only one — but it was an SSK assault rifle, along with enough ammunition to blow away 59 bystanders.
OK, I have it figured out.
Press was there. The cops were there. The lefties were all over themselves - and nothing was happening.
Finally, in order to prevent complete embarrassment - someone running the program decides to turn in their own gun!
But the Beretta? No way! The AR-15? You've got to be kidding!
Maybe the old junk SKS that hasn't been shot in about 10 years? It's only worth about $100.
So they get their buddy todrop it off over Oooos and Ahhss from the clueless media.
I mean - how do you explain only one gun being turned in - and that one just happened to be an evil looking was an SKS?
Fact is - despite our lying media - the program was a COMPLETE failure.
Ain't no one in LA giving up their guns.
The rifle...about $300-400. Ammo is hitting $200 per thousand.
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