by Dave Workman
Senior Editor
Officials in Seattle and King County, Wash. have launched a gun-buyback program that is being supported by various community organizations, but there are some doubts whether the effort will accomplish anything besides getting some headlines.
The announcement came one day after several organizations, including the Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, announced that Jan. 19 would be national “Gun Appreciation Day.” Both gun rights organizations are based in Bellevue, located on the east shore of Lake Washington, opposite the City of Seattle.
Mayor Mike McGinn and King County Executive Dow Constantine were joined by representatives from the Seattle Police Department and King County Sheriff’s Office, Mount Zion Baptist Church, and Kurt Geissel, owner of the Café Racer where four people were shot last year by a gunman who later murdered a woman in downtown Seattle before being confronted by police at a third location and taking his own life.
However, there are indications that gun buyback programs do not produce any measurable results in terms of reducing violent crime. Indeed, according to the Seattle Times, a buyback program in 1992 had more than 1,100 guns turned in, but “an analysis found firearms-related robberies, assaults and homicides ticked up slightly” in the wake of that effort.
The announcement came also one day after former Congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, launched a new gun control effort called “Americans for Responsible Solutions.” Giffords was severely wounded in 2011 by a gunman at a Tucson, Ariz. shopping mall and she left Congress to devote time to her recovery. Six people were killed in that incident.
Their effort reportedly is designed to raise funds to match the “gun lobby” but there are already well-funded gun control efforts out there that include the Brady Campaign, Violence Policy Center, Committee to Stop Gun Violence and various state-level groups.
In Seattle, it is not likely that many high-quality guns will be recovered. The program is offering $100 gift cards for handguns and cards valued at up to $200 for so-called “assault weapons.”
A study done in 2004 for the National Research Council revealed that gun buybacks really are not that effective. According to their published report, “The theory on which gun buy-back programs is based is flawed in three respects.”
“First,” the report states, “the guns that are typically surrendered in gun buy-backs are those that are least likely to be used in criminal activities. Typically, the guns turned in tend to be of two types: (1) old, malfunctioning guns whose resale value is less than the reward offered in buy-back programs or (2) guns owned by individuals who derive little value from the possession of the guns (e.g., those who have inherited guns). The Police Executive Research Forum (1996) found this in their analysis of the differences between weapons handed in and those used in crimes. In contrast, those who are either using guns to carry out crimes or as protection in the course of engaging in other illegal activities, such as drug selling, have actively acquired their guns and are unlikely to want to participate in such programs.”
An Op-Ed published by the Los Angeles Times panned buybacks, noting, “For political theater, few things beat gun buyback programs such as the one held (recently) in Los Angeles. The resulting stacks of shotguns, rifles, handguns and even assault weapons make great TV and give the impression that politicians and police chiefs are putting a dent in the supply of dangerous firearms. It’s fodder for a slow news day and a harmless enough marketing ploy — but really reducing gun crime requires more than feel-good exercises.”
Gun rights activists in Washington were considering an effort of their own to pay more for guns. There have been efforts in the past, at other gun buybacks, that managed to save some valuable firearms from the political scrap heap.
Activists also note that there are many things that might be done with turned-in firearms besides melting them down. Functional firearms could be used for law enforcement training purposes, or to raise money through legal sale to licensed dealers for police department operating expenses. Some of the long guns could be donated to hunter education and firearms safety programs.
