The Bite – January 2014
Gun Buyback Programs Who Are They Fooling? By Mark “Six� James So my city is presently conducting a gun buyback program. It is a feel good activity done by many cities, which really has little bearing on crime. However city after city continue to play smoke and mirror mind games through diversionary public relations tactics. These programs have never proven to be effective violence mitigation strategies. The overall percentage of guns turned in, in these types of programs is relatively small compared to the number of firearms in the city or in the country. Criminals never turn in their weapons and the law abiding citizens who do turn in the weapons typically don't commit crimes.
Most of the guns that often get turned in aren't even operable or they are old hunting rifles, revolvers and granddads shotgun. Not the contemporary tools of the street. Under the buy back program a person would receive $50 for a handgun and $100 for a rifle. If the handgun had value or was operable most citizens would just take them and sell them to a reputable gun dealer for a value far greater than $50 or $100 for an operable firearm. For the unscrupulous seller the street value on the black market is also considerably higher, so 50 isn't much incentive. If I truly lived in a security challenged area why would I sell the tool which could help protect my family. If all the citizen wanted to do was just dispose of the weapon in a safe manner, they would probably turn the weapon over to the city for free just to dispose of the firearm. In my humble opinion the money would be much better spent in focused patrols, funding literacy programs, or recreation centers which keep kids off the street and provide safe havens.
An example of how the same money could be put to better use by reinvesting in the community they desire to serve, by funding an afterschool tutoring program paying a local college student $15 per hour for the tutorial program.
For the sake of argument and easy math lets say the buyback program paid an average of $75 per firearm (the average between the handgun and rifle price). The program takes in:
Gun buyback programs don't really address the real issues which are under invested neighborhoods, high unemployment, underperforming schools and gang related violence. Ineffective programs only fool the misinformed or the people who execute them. When you know better you should expect better.
Mark “Six� James is Founder and Executive Director of Panther Protection Services, LLC, a seasoned protection specialist, internationally published author and keynote speaker. .
Program Payout 50 firearms at $75 average = $3,750 payout 100 firearms at $75 average = $7,500 payout 150 firearms at $75 average = $11,250 payout Projected Tutorial Hours $3,750 / $15 per hour = 250 hours of tutoring $7,500 / $15 per hour = 500 hours of tutoring $11,250 / $15 per hour = 750 hours of tutoring
Literacy Weeks Funded 250 hours of tutoring / 3 hours per day x 3 days per week = 27 weeks 500 hours of tutoring / 3 hours per day x 3 days per week = 55 weeks 750 hours of tutoring / 3 hours per day x 3 days per week = 83 weeks The above tutoring program may not be the answer but would do far more for impacting an underserved community to helping enhance literacy and giving kids a boost in education or just providing them a supervised safe haven.
Panther Protection Services is a full service protection agency focusing on Risk and Crisis Mitigation, Protective Services, Self-Defense Training, and Firearm Instruction. For additional information contact us at info@pantherprotectionservices.com
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