Gun violence [Gun Buy Back in Detroit]

**micky** · September-03-11, 08:53 PM

I was born 1 year after the riots in Detroit and have watched through the years all the different programs to clean up street crime especially gun related violence and nothing has seemed to work.

I remember there was a program back in the 80s that bought guns off the street no questions asked and it worked somewhat, does anybody remember such a program?

I realize such a program would not end gun violence but it could not hurt to try either.

**Bigb23** · September-03-11, 09:12 PM

They had a gun buy back in Detroit just last week. They had to evacuate the area because somebody brought in a grenade. Too bad that the State Police and Detroit bomb squads are so busy.

**mwilbert** · September-03-11, 09:19 PM

Originally Posted by micky

I was born 1 year after the riots in Detroit and have watched through the years all the different programs to clean up street crime especaly gun related violence and nothing has seemed to work.

I remember there was a program back in the 80s that bought guns off the street no questions asked and it worked somewhat, does anybody remember such a program?

I realize such a program would not end gun violence but it could not hurt to try either.

There isn't any evidence I have seen that these programs have any measurable effect. They have been tried in many cities, and the same thing always happens. No one who has a gun that they think they need in their normal course of life will turn it in. This includes all armed criminals. Possibly some guns get removed from homes where people no longer want them or the people who did want them are gone. While a gun in that situation wouldn't tend to be used except if a kid finds it or if it is stolen, it is possible that there is some benefit from encouraging people to turn them in.

Such programs don't cost much money, so they aren't a huge problem, they just don't do much either.

**Johnnny5** · September-03-11, 09:28 PM

They still do gun buybacks in Detroit, I remember there being one last summer sometime. As a law abiding gun owner I have no problem with the buyback programs, as long as the police make a reasonable effort to return stolen firearms to the rightful owners.

**micky** · September-03-11, 10:27 PM

Originally Posted by Bigb23

They had a gun buy back in Detroit just last week. They had to evacuate the area because somebody brought in a grenade. Too bad that the State Police and Detroit bomb squads are so busy.

That's great a grenade I never would have imagined some one having a live grenade laying around

Originally Posted by mwilbert

There isn't any evidence I have seen that these programs have any measurable effect. They have been tried in many cities, and the same thing always happens. No one who has a gun that they think they need in their normal course of life will turn it in. This includes all armed criminals. Possibly some guns get removed from homes where people no longer want them or the people who did want them are gone. While a gun in that situation wouldn't tend to be used except if a kid finds it or if it is stolen, it is possible that there is some benefit from encouraging people to turn them in.

Such programs don't cost much money, so they aren't a huge problem, they just don't do much either.

You got a point there, the hard core criminals are not going to give an inch, I was hoping with things being so tight these day's they just might come off a 20$ Saturday night special for a hundred no questions asked.

It seems to be the young gang initiation gun play that causes most of the random gun death's and that is the group i would most like see have trouble finding 20$ gun's, the hard core criminal has the money and connections for real weapons, it is the cheap stuff the kid's play with that concern's me the most.

**Frankg** · September-04-11, 01:53 AM

I used to subscribe to the belief that "if handguns are outlawed, only outlaws will have handguns." But then I realized that at some point, virtually every handgun used in a crime was at some point, previously owned legally by a law-abiding citizen exercising their second amendment rights. Either the law-abiding citizen turned out to not be so law-abiding after all, or the gun was given to, lent to, or stolen by, the criminal who then uses the handgun in a crime. Thus, if the law-abiding citizens didn't have guns, then the criminals wouldn't have them, either. Where would criminals get them from? They wouldn't.

My grandpa was a machinist and his company made grenades, or at least parts of them, from the WWII era - Vietnam War era. He had a grenade at home with all the parts except for the explosives that us kids used to play with. I have no idea where it is now.

Steve bennet · September-04-11, 11:09 AM

Originally Posted by Frankg

Thus, if the law-abiding citizens didn't have guns, then the criminals wouldn't have them, either. Where would criminals get them from? They wouldn't.

They wouldn't?

Crack is illegal, and I can get that any time I want.

**Jimaz** · September-04-11, 11:44 AM

Originally Posted by Frankg

...My grandpa was a machinist and his company made grenades, or at least parts of them, from the WWII era - Vietnam War era. He had a grenade at home with all the parts except for the explosives that us kids used to play with. I have no idea where it is now.

I have a childhood memory of my father taking us to an army surplus store. They had a barrel filled with those grenades. He said they were used only for training. They looked real. They should have painted them orange or something to distinguish them from the real thing.

And no, he wouldn't buy one for me. Darn it all.

**Mikeg** · September-04-11, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by Frankg

Where would criminals get them from?

Maybe they could get them through the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, just like the Mexican drug cartels did!

Brian Terry, RIP.

**jtf1972** · September-04-11, 12:50 PM

Originally Posted by Bigb23

They had a gun buy back in Detroit just last week. They had to evacuate the area because somebody brought in a grenade. Too bad that the State Police and Detroit bomb squads are so busy.

Must have got his dates confused. What date is the explosives buy back?

**Bigb23** · September-04-11, 01:48 PM

Must have got his dates confused. What date is the explosives buy back?

July 5th ?

**adamjab19** · September-04-11, 01:58 PM

Originally Posted by Steve bennet

They wouldn't?

Crack is illegal, and I can get that any time I want.

True. But crack doesn't come with a 30 day wait period or a process of registration.

Steve bennet · September-04-11, 02:37 PM

Originally Posted by adamjab19

True. But crack doesn't come with a 30 day wait period or a process of registration.

Neither do illegal guns.

**adamjab19** · September-04-11, 11:51 PM

Originally Posted by Steve bennet

Neither do illegal guns.

well sure. but in going off of FrankG's comment that if all law abiding gun owners always had the guns they purchased and they were never stolen/sold from responsible or irresponsible legal owners the guns would never be 'illegal' in the first place because only "crime free" residents could own the guns...but that's in a perfect world.

**micky** · September-05-11, 11:22 AM

Originally Posted by Frankg

I used to subscribe to the belief that "if handguns are outlawed, only outlaws will have handguns." But then I realized that at some point, virtually every handgun used in a crime was at some point, previously owned legally by a law-abiding citizen exercising their second amendment rights. Either the law-abiding citizen turned out to not be so law-abiding after all, or the gun was given to, lent to, or stolen by, the criminal who then uses the handgun in a crime. Thus, if the law-abiding citizens didn't have guns, then the criminals wouldn't have them, either. Where would criminals get them from? They wouldn't.

Prohibition era comes to mind, take a look throughout history and you will discover why those in power prefer unarmed peasants, I understand we need to do something but banning gun's is not one of them

**Frankg** · September-06-11, 06:00 AM

I used to buy the argument that people need to have handguns to keep the government in check, but not anymore. Look, the government has Apache helicopters, RPG's, laser-guided bombs, M-1 tanks... ...and the population is going to keep the government in check with... handguns? Oh please. That might make for a good Charlton Heston movie going out in a blaze of glory but really, it is just a fantasy. Two hundred, three hundred years ago, OK, maybe handguns help keep the government in check. But today? It is a fantasy.

**rb336** · September-06-11, 07:38 AM

The biggest source of illegal guns? the manufacturers who seem to have rather poor records.

the buy-back? the prices are absurd. I sold a pistol back to a buy-back in NYC and it got me $125

**micky** · September-06-11, 10:22 PM

Gun's let's focus on the gun's, all other argument's for and against have their place but it is not here and now, the issue we have to deal with is children killing children.

Times are tight real tight I'm willing to bet I could buy gun's for 20 to 50$ a piece all day long for weeks before the supply got low on the street, however I am sure either the ATF or a local crime guy would shoot me dead before I got to far, word of money on the street travels fast and you can bet someone would be looking to cash in.

So how would one go about such a thing? I would imagine the State Police are the only ones I would trust, the rest of those crooked bastards would be looking to cash in one way or the other, at least with the State Police you know things would be handled professionally.

So to make a long story short a Lovely woman that raised her family in my grandma's old house for 20+ years passed away recently and left me a wish list of things to handle for her when she passed, one of those task's was to sell off her son's stuff, whom she had lost do to random gang violence years ago and do something constructive with the money.

So I sold what little she had left on craigslist, came up with a 1500$ figured the right thing to do would to spend the money getting cheap gun's off the street, I need some of your thought's on how to handle such a thing, calling the State Police and asking for a sit down to discuss such a proposal is no problem, It's the rest of the things I have no clue about.

I bet there are a few people on board here that could help make things go much smoother, matching corporate contribution's would be nice, Ilitch Holdings, Matty Moroun, Dan Gilbert, Slows hell ya never know who might be on here.

And no I am not a cock puncher from you know where I am serious about this and would like to know what you all Think would work or not.

Thank's Tim