www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-zorn-24-jul24,0,6357125.column
chicagotribune.com
Hard to find good reason to buy back guns
Eric Zorn
July 24, 2008
Here are six reasons I’m wary of gun buybacks, such as the one scheduled for Saturday in Chicago in which those who turn in firearms at any of 25 locations get a $100 prepaid credit card per gun, no questions asked.
1. I can’t imagine criminals disarming themselves for a lousy $100.
Sure, they might dump their excess, scrap or stolen piece for the bounty. But if having a gun is integral to their criminal activities, it’s absurd to think a buyback would inspire them to give up the tools of their trade.
2. I don’t see the economic sense of offering law-abiding people a flat fee for their guns.
If you own a firearm worth more than $100, as most firearms are, the only reason to take less for it is if you have no use for it. In that case, your gun is probably not contributing to the gun violence these programs are supposed to address.
3. I worry about buyback programs subsidizing crime and weapons traffic.
Excerpt
You missed the one reason a criminal would turn in his gun - to dispose of a “hot” weapon that they had already used.