HUD’s gun buybacks off to a slow start

S

Skyhawk

New member
Wednesday, 19 April 2000
HUD’s gun buybacks off to a slow start http://www.azstarnet.com/public/dnews/000419WGunBuybacks.html

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Five months after President Clinton announced a $15 million plan to buy and destroy unwanted guns, only about 20 percent of the money has been earmarked for such initiatives.

The major problem with the Buyback America program is how the money is handed out. Local governments must spend $100 of their drug-fighting funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to buy back guns from citizens to get an additional $43 from the federal government for the program.

The result is that a program administration officials predicted would get 300,000 guns off the streets so far has removed only about 50,000.

“Gun violence is not a huge issue for the residents of our housing,” said Virginia Felton of the Seattle Housing Authority, which did not apply for the program. “We can spend our resources more effectively in other crime-prevention areas.”

HUD spokesman David Egner said the agency is pleased with the program and it is moving much faster than expected. “No one ever said this program would buy all the guns in five months,” Egner said.

HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo held a news conference yesterday to encourage more cities to apply for money. He was joined by several mayors, while the father of a student killed at Columbine lent his support via a satellite hookup from Denver.

“I can’t see how any mayor in any city would not want to be a part of this,” said Mayor Al Jurczynski of Schenectady, N.Y., one of 84 cities that has gotten money. His city has received $1,144 and plans to use it to buy 23 guns.

The program has come under fire from gun-rights groups and many Republicans in Congress. GOP leaders say HUD does not have the authority to spend anti-drug money to buy and destroy guns. The National Rifle Association says the money would be better spent elsewhere.

“I don’t think anyone would really try to argue that they’re seeing long lines of violent criminals with guns turning in the tools of their trade,” NRA spokesman Bill Powers said.
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Sorry, forgot to post the link.

Skyhawk


[This message has been edited by Skyhawk (edited April 19, 2000).]
 
US Tries To Boost Gun Buyback Plan
http://news.excite.com/news/ap/000419/02/gun-buybacks

Updated 2:19 AM ET April 19, 2000

By MATT KELLEY, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - To mark the anniversary of the Columbine High School
massacre, the Clinton administration wants to show what it has done to curb gun
violence in the year since America's worst school shooting.

With Clinton's favored gun control bill stalled in Congress, the administration is
touting a Department of Housing and Urban Development program to encourage
city housing agencies to buy and destroy unwanted firearms. The gun buybacks give
cash or gift certificates ranging from $25 to $150 for each firearm handed over.

HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo held a news conference Tuesday to "announce in
the memory of Columbine the Buyback America program," which Clinton originally
unveiled in November. Tom Mauser, who became a gun control lobbyist after his
son Daniel was killed at Columbine, joined Cuomo via satellite.

Cuomo urged more cities to join in the program, saying each gun purchased meant "one less accessible gun in circulation, one
less unwanted gun in a home, one less chance of tragedy, one step closer to a safer, better America."

A total of 84 cities have signed up, accounting for about $3 million of the $15 million Clinton pledged. Many cities -
including all in Colorado, Columbine's home state - are passing on the opportunity, however.

One reason is that local housing agencies must spend $100 of their own drug-fighting money on the buyback program to get
an additional $43 for the buyback from HUD. Denver Housing Authority Director Sal Carpio said he couldn't justify taking
money from existing anti-drug programs like security patrols and addiction prevention for a buyback.

Other agencies don't see guns as their biggest problem.

"Gun violence is not a huge issue for the residents of our housing," said Virginia Felton, spokeswoman for the Seattle
Housing Authority, which did not apply for the program. "We can spend our resources more effectively in other crime
prevention areas."

HUD officials say the response to the idea has been much better than expected, given how slow the government can work.
Cuomo said the 50,000 or so guns expected to be bought in the 84 cities is an excellent first step for the three-year program,
whose goal is to get rid of 300,000 guns.

"No one ever said this program would buy all the guns in five months," HUD spokesman David Egner said.

Not surprisingly, Clinton's opponents on the gun issue are also critical. The House has passed a Republican-backed measure
that would cut off funding for the program; GOP leaders say HUD does not have the authority to spend anti-drug money on
gun buybacks.

And the president's archenemy on gun issues, the National Rifle Association, says the money would be better spent elsewhere.

"I don't think anyone would really try to argue that they're seeing long lines of violent criminals with guns turning in the tools
of their trade," NRA spokesman Bill Powers said. "I think most Americans would like to see their tax dollars go to tougher
enforcement of gun laws against bad guys."

Clinton administration officials have wasted no opportunity in recent weeks to rhetorically pistol-whip the NRA and GOP-led
Congress over the gun control stalemate on Capitol Hill. A bill that would require trigger locks on guns and background
checks for all purchases at gun shows has been stalled for more than six months.

"The buyback is a good solution (to gun violence), but it's not the entire solution," Cuomo said Tuesday. "Child locks, trigger
locks are part of the solution. Gun control legislation (being) passed by this Congress is part of the solution. Closing the gun
show loophole is part of the solution."

The NRA, which opposes the gun show provision and whose executive vice president said Clinton was willing to accept a
certain level of killing to further his political agenda, does not agree that buybacks are part of the solution to violence.

"We do have a concern about using hard-earned taxpayer dollars for these programs that, while they may be well-intentioned,
don't really address the problem of gun violence," Powers said.

---

EDITOR'S NOTE - Matt Kelley covers Colorado issues for The Associated Press in Washington.
 
BuyBack America Campaign Launched in 84 Communities
http://news.excite.com/news/pr/000418/dc-us-dept-hud-guns

Updated 3:48 PM ET April 18, 2000

WASHINGTON, April 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo, on behalf of the Clinton Administration, today launched
BuyBack America -- an unprecedented national campaign to buy back unwanted guns and raise awareness about gun safety. Eighty-four communities have pledged
to utilize HUD funds to purchase tens of thousands of unwanted firearms, reducing deaths and injuries caused by gun crimes, accidents and suicides. Cuomo also
announced the availability of additional funds to enable gun buybacks to occur in hundreds of more communities in the coming year.

"BuyBack America isn't just about buying back guns -- it's about buying back lives that would otherwise be lost to senseless gun violence," Cuomo said. "Tragically,
gun violence today is a plague that is killing our fathers and mothers, our sisters and brothers, our wives and husbands, and even our children. Every gun we take off
the street in a buyback is one less gun that can fall into the wrong hands and kill or wound an innocent victim. I encourage more communities to join us."

Tom Mauser -- the father of slain Columbine student Daniel Mauser -- joined Cuomo in today's announcement. Mauser, who has taken a leave of absence from his
job and is working full-time to reduce gun violence with the group SAFE Colorado (Sane Alternatives to the Firearms Epidemic), said: "I welcome this buyback
program because it is an effective way of eliminating guns from our streets. All of our institutions and leaders must do their part to help us reduce the terrible problem
of gun violence in our country."

The Secretary was also joined by Annapolis, MD, Mayor Dean Johnson, whose city conducted its first-ever HUD-funded gun buyback last weekend, and the
following Mayors whose cities will conduct their first HUD-funded buybacks as part of BuyBack America in the future: Sharpe James of Newark, NJ; Al Jurczynski
of Schenactady, NY; Carol Marinovich of Kansas City, KS; Ruben Smith of Las Cruces, NM; and Bobby Peters of Columbus, GA.

Cuomo also announced a second round of buybacks that will enable even more local communities to buy back guns and get them off the streets. Housing authorities
will now be able to use their Fiscal Year 2000 -- in addition to their 1999 funds -- for this second round of buybacks. The buybacks are designed to reduce the toll of
gun violence that claims an estimated 30,000 lives and wounds another 100,000 people each year in the United States.

Cuomo encouraged communities across the country that have not yet applied to take advantage of HUD funding, to join the nationwide BuyBack America campaign.

In September, President Clinton announced HUD's BuyBack initiative. Today's event illustrates the positive response to the President's call for action. The President
is expected to have more to say about BuyBack America in the coming days.

Police departments and public housing authorities participating in BuyBack America will use funds from HUD's crime-fighting Drug Elimination Grant Program to
buy back guns. HUD suggests a buyback price of $50 for each gun. In addition, businesses are encouraged to donate gift certificates for food, toys, and other goods
to individuals turning in guns. HUD is providing 43 cents in matching funds for every $1 in HUD Drug Elimination Grant funds which housing authorities sets
aside for a gun buyback.

The basic premise of the gun buybacks is to give people the opportunity, for a limited period of time, to exchange their guns for something of value with no questions
asked. To reduce the availability of guns, all guns purchased with HUD funds will destroyed, unless it is determined that a gun was stolen or is needed for an ongoing
law enforcement investigation. Stolen weapons will be returned to their lawful owners.

A recent study from RAND and the University of California-Los Angeles showed that more than 22 million children live in homes with firearms and in 43 percent of
those homes, the guns are not locked up or fitted with trigger locks.

In addition to removing guns from the community, the buyback initiative is designed to foster cooperation between local communities and law enforcement agencies,
as well as to educate people regarding gun safety and responsible gun ownership.

Other parts of the Clinton Administration's gun safety agenda include:

HUD and the Department of the Treasury last month signed a historic
agreement with Smith & Wesson to implement a "code of conduct" that
will increase gun safety and improve retail distribution to keep guns
out of the hands of children and criminals.
A $280 million national firearms enforcement initiative that is also
part of the President's proposed budget. The initiative would hire 500
new ATF agents and inspectors to target gun criminals, hire more than
1,000 prosecutors at all levels of government, fund new gun tracing and
ballistics testing systems to catch more gun criminals, fund local
media campaigns to send a message to criminals on tough gun penalities
and a message to all gun owners on the safe handling and storage of
firearms.
A $30 million Community Gun Safety and Violence Reduction Initiative
that President Clinton proposed in his Fiscal Year 2001 Budget. The
initiative, which would be administered by HUD, would fund computerized
mapping of gun violence to help law enforcement agencies better protect
the public, education and outreach programs to promote responsible
safety measures by gun owners, and innovative community activities to
reduce both gun crimes and accidents. If Congress approves funding for
the initiative, local governments, law enforcement agencies, public
housing authorities, community organizations, and other groups would be
eligible to compete for HUD grants to support gun violence reduction
activities in the communities the Department serves.

The passage of common-sense gun safety legislation that has been stalled in a House-Senate Conference Committee for nine months that would close the
gun show loophole, require child safety locks for handguns, ban the importation of large-capacity ammunition clips, and bar violent juveniles from owning
guns as adults.

The following individuals and organizations have expressed support for the BuyBack America initiative: Senator Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, Ranking
Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee; Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Ranking Member of the Senate Budget
Committee and a Member of the VA-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee; Senator Barbara Boxer of California, Member of the Budget Committee;
Congressman Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island; Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy of New York, whose husband was murdered and whose son was badly
wounded in a shooting on the Long Island Rail Road; Handgun Control, Inc.; the National Education Association; Physicians for Social Responsibility; the
American Public Health Association; the Educational Fund to End Handgun Violence; the National Association of African Americans in Housing; and
officials from the Housing Authority of Baltimore City and the Housing Authority of New Orleans.
 
HUD? Slow? Nahhhhhhhhhh.

I should have closed on my HUD home a month ago. I made the bid in January; signed the contract in early February. When they finally got around to setting up the closing, they found an old lein on the property -- something that friends in title law tell me should take no more than a day or two to resolve. HUD has *SIXTY DAYS* to resolve it and reschedule the closing -- and by law I am not allowed to call and bug them about it.

Don't get me wrong. I'm thrilled to be buying a hulking, 75-year-old mansion for the price of a modest car. I just hope I'll be able to move in before I retire....



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*quack*
 
Futo,
How would you like to pick through 50,000 turn-ins? There might be a pearl in there somewhere.
smile.gif
I'd like to be able to go through a bunch of them.
 
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