Opinion

Pensacola Gun Buyback Program: Another Anti-Gun Boondoggle

The Pensacola gun buyback program is set to go with the blessings of the city council. The city council passed it on Thursday with no opposition – taking $10,000 out of the Mayor’s “Discretionary” fund for this “pilot program” proposed by Pensacola City Councilmember Delarian Wiggins (District 7).

pensacola gun buyback
Photo via Dave Workman

The Pensacola Gun Buyback

The council claimed that they weren’t trying to get legal gun owners to turn in the guns they bought, but that they were attempting to get criminals to turn in their guns for cash or a gift card. Sure. Be careful of snake oil salesmen.

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We’re are certainly not trying to take away the guns of people who own them (legally). This is about taking guns off the street from violent offenders.

Delarian Wiggins (WKRG)

The flaw in that thinking is that violent offenders aren’t likely to waltz into the gun buyback venue and hand their in weapon. Not even in the Pensacola gun buyback. For robbers, they can get more money from criminal activity with the gun than they can from the gun buyback program. Unless of course, they turn in some garbage guns they have lying around their lair.

A Missouri man sold his firearms made out of scrap metal and garbage to a gun buy-back program…  and then used the money to buy a real gun….was literally able to sell pieces of scrap metal and garbage back to the ‘no questions asked’ program with an intention to purchase a rifle or pistol from a pawn shop after the sale. He stated to his followers that he would post again when he settled on a new gun to purchase.

Law Enforcement Today

That’s not an isolated example. People have turned in old, barely functional guns and the person turned right around and bought another one that worked better. Of course, at the prices offered for the gun buyback, they won’t be getting a brand new gun. Will that happen in the Pensacola gun buyback as well?

The Pensacola Police Department will administer the program, examine the guns to see if they were used in the commission of a crime, and if not, they will be destroyed. They have not yet chosen the final prices to be offered, but the possible prices are: $50 for handguns, and $75-$100 for rifles. The joke’s on the city of Pensacola who want to reduce violent crime by focusing on the tool used instead of the mentality of the criminals.

A 2013 evaluation of a multiyear gun buyback program in Buffalo, New York, found no effect on violent gun crime, including homicides. The authors also note that different parties, like law enforcement officers and politicians, may measure the success of gun buybacks in different ways.

Harvard Kennedy Research Project on Gun buybacks

In other words, gun buyback programs are all ‘smoke and mirrors’ and nothing else, because they are totally ineffective at reducing crime. The leaders of cities, counties and the federal government have access to the data, so they have to know that. Which is one reason why anyone with even a tiny bit of common sense doesn’t trust the government.

H/T Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children

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Faye Higbee

Faye Higbee is the columnist manager for Uncle Sam's Misguided Children. She has been writing at Conservative Firing Line since 2013 as well. She is also a published author.

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