Glad Those Gun Buyback Programs Worked?
Earlier this month, Mayor Byron Brown announced yet another pointless gun buyback program would take place in August… In his announcement, he touted the program’s past “success”:
“Over the past two years, we removed 1,601 illegal guns from our city streets through our coordinated gun buyback effort and we encourage city residents to come forward again, in a safe and confidential setting, to turn in guns that will be disposed of by the Buffalo Police Department,” said Mayor Brown. “When I launched this program in 2007, critics said that it would be ineffective and that we would only receive antique or small caliber weapons. Well, the results from the past two years have proved that the critics were wrong, law abiding city residents stepped up and very lethal guns were removed from our city streets.”
According to the City Comptroller’s office, for the past two gun buyback efforts a total of 1,601 guns were turned in by city residents, who, in turn, received a total of $75,515 through JPMorgan Chase cash cards distributed at each drop-off location.
Ain’t that something? The program was a success! Tell that to 16-year-old Michael Mayfield:
Four people were shot — including a 16-year-old boy who died — in a pair of separate East Side shootings within 40 minutes of each other Wednesday night, according to Buffalo police.
Michael Mayfield, 16, of Carl Street was killed. He was taken in a private vehicle to Erie County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Mayfield became the city’s 29th homicide victim this year.
Gunfire erupted at about 8:30 p.m. outside the Delavan-Grider Community Center at 877 E. Delavan Ave. It began with a dispute that may have started inside before spilling into an outside courtyard, police said.
“They came outside, that’s when shots were fired,” said Michael J. DeGeorge, Buffalo police spokesman.
Numerous shots were believed to have been fired by more than one shooter. The center was open at the time of the shooting. Homicide detectives were interviewing witnesses.
Nice to see the program really works getting those “illegal” guns off the streets.
UPDATE: What does the gun buyback program “[have] to do with the murder of an East Side teenager?” For those too obtuse to understand the connection, perhaps you should ask yourself why Byron Brown was so quick to come to the Delavan-Grider neighborhood to promote the gun buyback program…
Friday afternoon, Mayor Byron Brown and Masten District Council Member Demone Smith toured the Delavan-Grider neighborhood, passing out flyers promoting next month’s gun buyback program .
On August 15th, anyone can turn in a gun in exchange for a debit card. No questions asked.
16-year-old Michael Mayfield was gunned down in the same neighborhood two nights ago.
Tags: Byron Brown, gun buyback program
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[...] Can someone explain to me the logic in this post, because I’ve read it 3 times and can’t figure out what the gun buyback has to do with [...]
Well, stupid you! It’s not how many lives that are lost, it’s all those live saved that we count.
@AnObserver - if so-called “gun buybacks” are so effective at saving “all those life” [sic], how come the rate of shootings in nearby Rochester is 12% higher in 2009 than 2008, despite the city holding 2 “successful” buybacks in ‘08 netting almost 300 guns? See: Rochester Gun Buybacks: Did they work?
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