4,050 weapons off the streets

Chicago Tribune ^ | Lolly Bowean and Dan Simmons

[rellimpank]

There were shiny six-shooter revolvers, polished wooden rifles, semiautomatic handguns, pistols, rifles and even two hand grenades.

In a citywide effort Saturday to try to curb the violence on Chicago streets, police collected more than 4,000 guns and other weapons in exchange for gift cards worth up to $100.

Residents frustrated by the gun violence that has long plagued their neighborhoods marched through the streets, many of them bereaved mothers who recited poems, sang songs and prayed for an end to the shooting.

"No mother should have to bury a son," said Vallie Smith, whose son, Mario Hines, 21, was shot to death in March. Hines had been arrested in 2007 for illegally carrying a handgun himself.

[Wombat Ark]

Your sarcasm is well founded, because this tactic doesn’t even approach the problem, much less solve it.

How about a “sons buyback” instead? Gift certificates in return for known neighborhood hardcases: $25 for guys who start bar fights, or rob or terrorize ordinary people; $50 for those who do drugs; $100 for dealin’; and an extra $100 sweetener for use of a firearm in conjunction with any of the above.

[SmokingJoe]

4,050 weapons off the streets

Yeah. And another 5,000 newer, more powerful guns right back on the streets within that same time period.
How many times have we seen these headlines in the last oh say 30 years? Are the gangs and the drug dealers really gonna give up their guns and stop making a lot of money from drug dealing? Of course not.

[Repeal The 17th]

I just wonder...
if there are any restrictions as to why I could not
have my own private ‘gun-buy-back’ program and offer
$100 bucks to anyone who brought me a weapon...

[Inyo-Mono]

There were shiny six-shooter revolvers, polished wooden rifles, semiautomatic handguns, pistols, rifles and even two hand grenades.

Polished wooden rifles? Like the kind my dauhgter twirled on dance team in the 7th grade?

[muir_redwoods]

Any chance I can get a bet down on the degree of change in the murder rate that this collection will cause?

Didn't think so.

[Graybeard58]

4,050 weapons off the streets

Chicago's criminals are rejoicing.

[antidemoncrat]

No. Steal better guns.

[facedown]

Does anyone really believe these numbers? In 2008 they claimed they took in 6000 "weapons". 6700 the year before.

This is nonsense.

[pnh102]

Does anyone really believe these numbers? In 2008 they claimed they took in 6000 "weapons". 6700 the year before.

They were all AK-47s LOL.

[nomad]

Just asking but, do they give a 100$ for any guns, including zip guns? Because 10$ worth of water piping for 100$ is good a deal.

[Erik Latranyi]

How many criminals with active bench warrants or other issues with the police would come anywhere near such an event?

These gun buybacks are advertised as 'no questions asked' and nobody gets arrested on the spot.

The criminals use these events as a great way to dump dirty guns.

If they are really concerned, they send one of their girlfriends or relatives to do the dump for them.

[brushcop]

The criminals use these events as a great way to dump dirty guns

EXACTLY!

[Travis McGee]

Where is the mandatory Barf Alert?

[Lurker]

They advertised this one pretty heavily up here. Just for kicks I called the Chicago ATF office and told them that people were buying and selling guns without FFL's and they should go make some arrests.

Looks like they didn't act on my hot tip

[Travis McGee]

Only peasants have to follow the rules.

[Bigg Red]

Oh, I am getting so misty-eyed over the success of this program. There will now be a 99.9% reduction in firearms murders now, right? All of the drug dealers and gang bangers turned in their guns, right?

[Elsiejay]

What would that number be, mebbe one percent of the firearms in Chicago (just a wild guess), all of them “surrendered” by law-abiding citizens?

Very impressive; especially the Feel Good Quotient!

[rellimpank]

—slapping forehead, rolling eyes—knew I forgot something today—

[Sender]

Chicago is the poster city for community organizers. Look at how organized their communities are; Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings...

And all those bright, loving young people are being corrupted by stealing our guns! We are causing them to sell drugs to afford stealing our guns!

Clearly, some common-sense gun laws need to be implemented. Then there will be nothing but Scrabble and Yahtzee on every Chicago street corner.

[300winmag]

They were all AK-47s LOL.

Seriesly, they always have one AK47 for the cameras, even if they have to bring one of their own. I always study the guns in the background, and they're usually worn-out single-shot shotguns or .22s like you'd find on old farms.

I've been given junkers like that by relatives who didn't want them around. Me neither, especially since they couldn't be salvaged. I'd either crush part of the frame in a big vise, or cut through it with a milling machine. Then into the trash, where someone might get a momentary thrill, or shock, until they realize what was done.