Gun buy back not predictive of violence decrease

G

Glenn E. Meyer

New member
For the scholars:

Hartford's gun buy-back program: Are we on target?

Citation

Marinelli LW, Thaker S, Borrup K, Shapiro DS, Bentley GC, Saleheen H, Lapidus G, Campbell BT. Conn. Med. 2013; 77(8): 453-459.

Conclusion: The incidence of gun-related deaths was unchanged in the two years following the inception of the buy-back program. A gun buy-back program alone is not likely to produce a measurable decrease in firearm injuries and deaths.
 
Isn't there already a study illustrating that most buyback participants are demographically very unlikely to be involved in violent crimes? (IIRC the study showed that the average participant was a person likely to be occasionally called Grandma or Grandpa. ;))
 
We recently had a buyback in a suburb of Atlanta. It made the evening news, and the camera did a long, lusty pan over the table of guns.

From what I could identify, the whole take consisted of blackpowder stuff, old H&R revolvers, old Savage and Stevens rimfires, and a few horribly neglected Ruger .22 pistols. I didn't see a single modern centerfire pistol or rifle.

The folks standing in line didn't look like repentant scallywags. They looked like normal people unloading useless stuff for better prices than they'd get at a flea market.
 
were not surprised the violent felons wont trade in their weapons for a 50 dollar cash card when they can simply use it to rob convenience stores for 3-500 at a time when they need to get more milk and coookies?
 
You must have read the data wrong! Everyone says the gun buyback programs are good. They must have some measurable effect. For instance, when was the last time you heard someone getting shot with a muskett or an older rimfire pistol? Ah-hah! See, they work. :p

I am so tired of people feeling they have to do something, anything, even the wrong thing. I wish they would take the money they spend on these programs and instead use it to teach people responsible firearms handling and shooting. Or maybe, even, take the money they waste on these programs and donate to mental health services.

I honestly believe that a lot of the youth today find guns glamorous and exotic, because that is how they are portrayed in the video games and the movies. When real life experience might teach them the truth, show them that hitting a target with a pistol does not cause half a city block to blow up.

I think a lot of parents are afraid of guns, more because of their lack of knowledge of the facts. I have taught my nieces and nephews that a firearm is nothing to be afraid of and it is nothing to play with. They are dangerous if they are used incorrectly or by people who are not knowledgeable of how they function.
 
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