Gun buy-back programs won’t help end killings
Some activists still see gun buy-back programs as a panacea.
What street-smart thug would exchange a firearm for some trinket or cash in an unprofitable transaction?
Perhaps a broken firearm could be sold and the proceeds invested in a better firearm. What about the citizen who turns in an heirloom with substantial collector appeal?
Would the person be advised to sell it to a dealer so that a rare item would go to a collector rather than turned into scrap metal?
Would firearms reported stolen be returned to lawful owners?
Is it possible that societal problems are more responsible for crime than any inanimate and morally neutral object?
How seriously do we treat those who intimidate, maim, or kill witnesses to violent crimes? Do they not deserve the ultimate punishment? How do we discourage crime in a society where young people lionize drug dealers and pimps?
John Hitchcock:
But you misunderstand, Art. People don’t kill people, guns do. Those darned things jump into people’s hands and shoot on their own. And once we get rid of all guns, we’ll get rid of archery programs, fillet knives, butter knives and sporks. Because those inanimate things will kill or maim people, too.
11 January 2009, 8:47 am