Villaraigosa Schedules Gun Buyback: But They Don't Work

Mine is this big!

In the wake of the tragic shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, as those impacted mourn and experience incredible pain, and the rest of the nation weeps with them, leave it to glad handing politicians try to exploit the issue for the latest gain.

Locally, we hear word that our own Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, is moving up a planned gun buyback program to the day after Christmas.

We all know about these programs. Those with guns are encouraged to bring them to some location in exchange for cash, Nikes, movie tickets, lap dances, whatever is enticing to the gun owning public.

The problem is, like gun control, they don't work to reduce gun violence. We have seen hundreds of these events around the country and the level of violence has yet to reduce

From Wikipedia:

Gun "buy-back" programs are a strategy aimed at influencing the firearms market by taking guns "off the streets". Gun "buy-back" programs have been shown to be ineffective, with the National Academy of Sciences citing theory underlying these programs as "badly flawed." Guns surrendered tend to be those least likely to be involved in crime, such as old, malfunctioning guns with little resale value, muzzleloading or other blackpowder guns, antiques chambered for obsolete cartridges that are no longer commercially manufactured or sold, or guns that individuals inherit but have little value in possessing. Other limitations of gun "buy-back" programs include the fact that it is relatively easy to obtain gun replacements, often of better guns than were relinquished in the "buy-back." Also, the number of handguns used in crime (approximately 7,500 per year) is very small compared to the approximately 70 million handguns in the United States (i.e., 0.011%).

But when has a politician ever turned down something that doesn't work if it gets their picture in the paper?