Gun Buyback Programs Don’t Work
by Matt at May 14th, 2008
It’s kind of depressing that I left one gun-crime-ridden city for another.
Bloody street violence struck Buffalo this week when at least five people were shot over a two-day period — Sunday and Monday — during four separate incidents across the city.
Four of the people were shot Sunday, but the most seriously injured was a 25-year-old man who was sprayed with a flurry of bullets that struck him multiple times in the head on Wohlers Avenue early Monday.
Antonio U. Jones was fighting for his life in Erie County Medical Center on Tuesday. Hospital officials declined to release his condition, but the shooting is being investigated by Homicide Unit detectives, which is an indication of the seriousness of Jones’ head injuries.
Police responded to a call of “person down” and found Jones in the street at about 3 a. m., according to Buffalo Police Department spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge.
DeGeorge said police have no suspects or motive in the shooting.
Records show that Jones has been arrested several times, including a court conviction in 2001 for attempted robbery.
Back in Boston, MA, the incompetent mayor, Tom Menino, talked tough on crime, but was more tough on guns. He prided himself on his gun buyback program, which did nothing to improve the gun violence epidemic. So, you can imagine I wasn’t surprised to find out that Buffalo had its own gun buyback program last year.
Mayor Byron W. Brown today announced the City’s “No Questions Asked” Gun Buyback Program will take place on Saturday, June 2, 2007 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at six drop-off sites across Buffalo.
“Late in 2006, I announced that the City would conduct a gun buyback program as one of several tactics we will use to rid our streets of illegal guns,” said Mayor Brown. “And during my annual State of the City Address I reiterated that this program would be a no-questions-asked process where guns submitted at several locations will enable the individual to receive a pre-paid credit card at a dollar value based on the caliber of the weapon.”
Buffalo’s program is modeled after several other city’s successful gun buyback efforts, particularly the City of Chicago that in two different one-day gun buybacks retrieved over 4,200 guns.
The program netted 800 guns, and as you can see from recent headlines, it has worked so well.
Liberals seem to have a fascination with mass round-ups of guns but not too interested with the tedious fact that they don’t work.