Gun Buyback Program…..good, bad or effective

As a registered gun owner, my initial reaction to a firearm buyback program was negative. I personally wouldn’t turn in my firearms so I didn’t understand why others would. But now that I publish this newspaper and have talked with numerous citizens, I’ve seen a completely different side of the equation. According to the NRA, 67% of homes have firearms. But how many of those homes don’t use them for anything except the “feeling” of home protection and gathering dust in a drawer or a closet.

So what are these dust collecting firearms good for? In the event of a home emergency requiring protection, would they really be able to get to the firearm, unlock it, load it then be ready to shoot a criminal to defend their home? While a lot of properly trained people would say yes, I believe most people would have to answer honestly and say no.

Studies show homes with firearms are 3 times more likely to have a homicide, 4 times higher to have a suicide and 4 times higher to have an accidental death. For
every time a gun in the home injures or kills in self-defense, there are 11 completed and attempted gun suicides, 7 criminal assaults and homicides with a
gun, and 4 unintentional shooting deaths or injuries.

The truth of the matter is the largest increase in crime is with daytime burglaries. These are mainly unemployed teenagers to mid-20’s adults that chose to steal from their neighbors. These criminals steal the dust gathering firearms from dresser drawers and closets then sell them. The biggest benefit I see to the gun buyback program is to remove these unused firearms from homes so they can’t be stolen and used by a criminal in the commission of a crime or even worse, to take a life.

If you want to keep your firearms, they should be properly stored. If you don’t want the firearms, be responsible and turn them in to law enforcement.

According to LAPD Chief Beck, “So far this year, 279 acts of gun violence in the city of Los Angeles. Same time frame, same city in 2008, before the 1st buyback program, saw 483 acts of gun violence.”

Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa said, “Los Angeles has a 66% drop in gang homicide since the program started”.

In 2010, 3 out of 5 home gun deaths were suicide, not homicide. In 2010, unintentional firearm injuries caused the deaths of over 600 people. In 2010 Census, 40-45% of all American households have a firearm. That is 47-53 million homes.

The LAPD had a gun buyback program on Saturday May 4, 2013. They collected 516 handguns, 381 rifles, 226 shotguns and 49 assault weapons from citizens that did the right thing by removing weapons they didn’t want. If you have firearms that you don’t want, the next gun buyback will be held by the Long Beach Police Department on Saturday, June 8. Stay tuned for more information on the buyback.