San Francisco Offers Gift Cards for Guns

[The Straight Story]

San Francisco Offers Gift Cards for Guns
Written by Jason Kobely, Internet News Producer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- San Francisco officials were handing out gift cards Saturday in exchange for guns.

The "Gifts for Guns" program is aimed at taking illegal firearms off the street.

People didn't need to show identification to participate, and officials promised not to ask any questions about the origin of the weapons.

Participants received $100 gift cards for rifles or shotguns, $150 for revolvers or semiautomatic pistols and $200 for assault-type weapons such as AK-47s.

http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=35801

I might be what ya call a gun nut - but I think these type of programs are good.

[blondeatlast]

1. Kinda neutralizes the "gun-grabbers" meme, doesn't it? nt

[Hangingon]

2. No, not at all

[blondeatlast]

8. Golly, that was enlightening. Your debate skills are --well, just what are they? nt

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[blondeatlast]

12. How do you know I'm blonde? nt

[aikoaiko]

3. I've always wanted to learn more about these gun buy backs

what kind of guns actually get turned in and what measurable effect, if any, there is on crime.

[RamboLiberal]

6. Most of what gets turnd in from what I've seen of news coverage

from my area is old, cheap and sometimes broken guns that have probably been lying around the home for years. One thing it may help prevent is accidents from kids finding them in the house.

I don't think it has much effect on crime except for maybe a few Saturday night specials being turned in. You might get a few family members turning in guns that were or could be used by other members of the family for crime. For instance the article below mentions girlfriends of guys in prison turning in their guns.

From Boston Globe:

-----

The effectiveness of gun buyback programs, which became popular across the country during the 1990s, has been questioned by criminologists who have concluded that few guns used in crime are turned in.

Richard Rosenfeld, a criminologist at the University of Missouri at St. Louis, found that a buyback program there had little impact on violent crime. In addition, many people used the cash rewards for new guns and others turned in guns they no longer used while holding onto other, more favored firearms, he said.

''Gun buybacks don't have much of an impact on crime, because they tend not to attract guns from the segment of the population most likely to use them in crime," Rosenfeld said. ''City officials know they are popular, they attract attention, and they can attract attention to the overall crime problem."

John Rosenthal, a close ally of the Boston police on efforts to fight violence and cofounder of the nonprofit Stop Handgun Violence, said he does not support buybacks because they don't work.

''I applaud the mayor's office and City Hall for trying to do anything and everything, but the sad reality is Boston Police, among the best law enforcement agencies in the country . . . are never going to stop the flow of crime guns into Boston or any other city across the country until there are uniform federal laws that restrict gun access to criminals," Rosenthal said.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/04/15/city_plans_a_retooled_buyback_of_guns/?page=2

[Xenotime]

4. Good for san fran. If Texas were to do that they would be broke.

[tomreedtoon]

5. In Orlando, it's "Kicks for Guns."

Don't know if they did it this year, but Real Radio 104.1 and the Monsters of the Morning used to run a program called "Kicks for Guns." Bring in guns, the police take them with no fault and get them destroyed, and the gun-giver gets a pair of new quality sneakers.

[Sanctified]

7. I wish they would do this where I live, I have an old broken rifle that is not worth fixing

and $100 could be useful in buying a working rifle.

[Hangingon]

11. I've never thought of that.

I have an old junker shot gun that isn't worth $100 that I would be glad to turn in for $100 that could be applied against a new Mossberg 500.

[ManiacJoe]

13. I remember seeing reports about previous exchanges

where (private?) buyers would make higher offers on the quality arms to folks in line before the city took the gun.

[NorthernSpy]

9. oooh, thank you, Santa!

Folks can turn in crappy old guns.

And then sell their gift cards, or use them to buy merchandise that they can return or sell for cash -- and then buy beautiful, shiny new guns!


Gee, that was a good idea.


:dunce:

[Township75]

14. I have some guns that don't work anymore

and I couldn't sell them for $100...so that would f'en rock in my area!!

I think this program has great intentions, but I believe it doesn't work well in practice. I recall the Pittsburgh area trying this and ending it a few years later because it was mostly nonworking firearms and old hunting weapons getting turned in...not the usual stuff used by thugs in the streets to commit crimes.