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St. Louis Gun “Buyback” P*sses Away $125k. Or Less . . .

Robert Farago - comments No comments

Gun “buybacks” are security theater. They’re a deeply cynical ploy by politicians — aided and abetted by craven cops and misguided men and women of the cloth — to make it look like they’re “doing something about gun violence.” And that’s just the good bit. These “no questions asked” turn-ins create a black market for stolen guns, encouraging criminals to steal guns. But they’re always deemed a “success” because . . .

Americans are ready, willing and able to surrender broken-ass guns in exchange for gift cards or cash. In the case of last weekend’s St. Louis “buyback,” so many Missourians wanted  for their old, unloved, unused firearms that the $125k on offer was gone in hours. Or was it?

Interim St. Louis police chief Lawrence O'Toole with guns from gun buyback (courtesy stltoday.com)

According to kansascity.com, “police said 303 handguns, 533 long guns and six assault rifles were purchased.”

I make that $111,450, some $13,550 short of stumped-up by “the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, along with individuals and some companies.” Maybe not the “huge success” the “community leaders proclaimed”?

After the couple waited in the cold for more than two hours, officials began turning people away unless they had assault weapons or wanted to donate their guns.

Don’t you hate it when black gun prejudice rears its ugly head?

Guns submitted to St. Louis gun buyback (courtesy fox2now.com)

Anyway, this “gun buyback” thing is so transparently stupid, even the media is beginning to tire of it. Check out how kansascity.com ends their article:

Mayor Lyda Krewson said the strong turnout “speaks to, first of all, how our community is awash in guns and how difficult that makes our police officers’ job. It also speaks to the good people of this community who went to their basement or garage and said I don’t want this gun to fall into the wrong hands.”

Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards (courtesy stltoday.com)

Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards (above) was pleased that many of the weapons were from St. Louis city.

But many of the people in Saturday’s line were not from the city, including Kent Oxman, who works at a pawn shop in St. Charles County and was there to sell a dozen guns.

“The gangbangers and criminals, they aren’t going to turn their stuff in,” Oxman said. “They are still sleeping.”

Truth out!

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Robert Farago

Robert Farago is the former publisher of The Truth About Guns (TTAG). He started the site to explore the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns.

0 thoughts on “St. Louis Gun “Buyback” P*sses Away $125k. Or Less . . .”

  1. She is the poster child for national reciprocity. If she were my wife and went through what just happened Gov. Christy would have need of his security detail. My wife is black and has two small boys and legally carries here in The great state of Texas. She better not face felony charges for driving across a state border. A warning about the differing state laws should have been enough but not when you are dealing with the largest criminal organization in the world. If Shaneen Allen had been an upper class white woman driving a Mercedes might it have gone differently ?

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  2. How much for each handgun? Could I turn a profit by purchasing Hi-Points and turning them in at a buy-back? I know that people have made hardware-store pipe shotguns, but I don’t have the space or tools to make them. Or should I just trawl through pawn shops for rusted old break-action shotguns?

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  3. Why are law abiding black people afraid to carry handguns?
    Ask Shaneen Allen. Or John Filippidis, who isn’t black, left his gun in Florida and still got assaulted and illegally searched by badge toting felons in Maryland.

    Then there’s Philando Castile.
    We can argue all day about whether Philando is responsible for his own death or not, but the fact of the matter is that a lot of blacks look at it and think “that could have been me”, and I can’t tell them “no, they won’t kill you”.

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