NJ Paper Questions the Efficacy of Buybacks

The Verona-Cedar Grove Times is questioning whether gun buybacks which offer larger sums of money, like $200, might be encouraging thieves to steal more firearms. I think it’s a reasonable supposition, but I’d be surprised if the effect is that great, considering what other things you can steal that are worth more than 200 dollars, and also require breaking into homes. Plus, a gun on the streets is worth more than the buyback amount.

I don’t think the buybacks do much to control crime, since most of the people giving them up are homeowners who just don’t want them anymore. I’d have little problem if the police only destroyed the junk, and sold the guns that were of curios or otherwise valuable to collectors. They might not be effective at stopping crime, but I don’t see them as particularly problematic constitutionally as long as it’s voluntary. Whether it’s a wise use of money and police resources is another story.

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5 thoughts on “NJ Paper Questions the Efficacy of Buybacks”

  1. According to Paula Dow, the soon to be NJ AG, gun buybacks have nothing to do with reducing crime, but to simply get guns out of people’s home’s where they can’t be stolen.

  2. I saw that. It’s not an implausible supposition, but I have to wonder if you get enough participants that it really makes much of a difference.

  3. If a curio or otherwise expensive were to turn up my guess would be they wind up in some “only ones” care.

  5. There’s my HUGE problem with buy-backs. The huge sums of money they spend on this worthless endeavor is money better spent getting more cops on the streets….or building prisons so we can keep the criminals we catch (and TAKE their guns) off the streets where they cause problems.

    I’d have no problem with buy-backs if they didn’t cost so damn much. But the case here:
    http://weerdbeard.livejournal.com/604606.html

    They’re talking $125,000 for less than 1000 guns!!!!!

    That money could be put to a NUMBER of better uses than this.

    Also I wonder how many guns that could be tied to a crime get sold in these.

    Legally there is not better way to destroy crime evidence than to dump it at a no-questions-asked buy-back. Hell the Money is just a bonus!

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