This past weekend, a group known as "1 Million Moms Against Gun Control, INC", with the help of a local delegate and cooperation from the local mayor and police chief in Laurel, Maryland, effectively turned a so-called gun "buy-back" into a 'gun show', allowing citizens to purchase others' unwanted firearms instead of them going to the "buy-back" program and later being destroyed.
Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/1millionmomsagainstguncontrol, https://twitter.com/1MMAGC (@1MMAGC) and http://www.1mmagc.org/.
Some of their Facebook posts about the recent event in Maryland and their broader intent are below.
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June 27, 2013
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June 29, 2013
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So-called gun "buy-backs" are not new. Several cities have held them this year. Opposition to them is also not new and has taken multiple forms from written criticism to grass-roots efforts by opportunistic citizens to make private purchases instead allowing functional firearms to be destroyed. 1MMAGC is the first group I've heard of that is attempting to do this in an organized fashion. Good for them and let's hope they're successful in their future efforts.
This June 2013 article is about 2 individuals who privately purchased firearms in competition with a Cleveland, Ohio 'buy-back' program: http://www.guns.com/2013/06/18/private-citizens-and-police-compete-to-gain-guns-in-cleveland-gun-buyback-video/
In January 2013 the grass-roots effort was much larger with dozens of private purchasers: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/01/28/private-buyers-invade-seattle-gun-buyback-offer-cash-for-firearms-that-would-otherwise-be-destroyed-by-police/
Here is some of the criticism of the effectiveness of these 'buy-back' programs. One of these is a study from 2004, the other an article from 2013. There are MANY other criticisms of these programs but much of their messages echo what's written here.
"The theoretical premise for gun buy-back programs is that the program will lead to fewer guns on the streets because fewer guns are available for either theft or trade, and that consequently violence will decline. It is the committee’s view that the theory underlying gun buy-back programs is badly flawed and the empirical evidence demonstrates the ineffectiveness of these programs."
National Research Council: Firearms and Violence, A Critical Review (2004): http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10881&page=95
http://nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10881
"Spread across tables or piled high into overflowing stacks, all those weapons reinforce the notion that trading cash for guns works. It gets guns off the street, organizers say, and makes the city safer.
The problem, according to years of research, is that it does neither."
"Researchers who have evaluated gun control strategies say buybacks – despite their popularity – are among the least effective ways to reduce gun violence."
"several studies over the years have examined the weapons retrieved during buybacks and the level of gun violence in the months after the events.
Most reached the same conclusion: The guns collected usually aren't the type used in crimes, and the impact of the buybacks on crime was "not statistically significant." "
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/12/gun-buybacks-popular-but-ineffective/1829165/
This final article is very biased against a particular so-called gun 'buy-back' that took place in Phoenix, Arizona. It's kind of a long, tedious article and I think much of it is just noise - barking up the wrong tree(s) - but intermixed in the noise are some excellent points and criticisms, including whether such programs are actually huge violations of federal, state and local law! If you're interested in the topic, you might appreciate spending the time to read this article.
http://www.ammoland.com/2013/06/largest-straw-purchase-of-guns-in-history-goes-uninvestigated/#ixzz2XhUisXbC
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Related blogs:
http://us2ndamendment.blogspot.com/2013/06/from-gun-buy-back-to-gun-show.html
Firearms Blog Collections
Toy Gun Exchange
Recovering Confiscated or Relinquished Firearms
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