TexasCHLforum.com

jorge wrote:The people who sold the guns were willing sellers. This wasn't like eminent domain where they were forced to sell. I think it was a waste of tax dollars but there are much bigger wasteful projects. I can't get too upset if some local government in a different state a thousand miles away wastes money buying junkyard guns.

In cases like this, the government is wasting its time and resources on buying back a consitutionally protected item. Can I get them to buyback that car stereo that I shouldnt have wasted money on? I can get upset about an example that is not local. For every "success" that the anti-gunners can point to, the RKBA supporters suffer a setback in the propaganda/philosophical arena.

Oh look, it worked there....lets do it here.

Here's my quick list of what is wrong:

- It encourages BGs to steal guns from legitimate owners
- It (both consciously and subconsciously) promotes a negative connotation of guns in the minds of the general populace
- It is a waste of tax money. If I spend my money on guns, I want to keep them, not spend my money to buy somebody else's gun and have it destroyed. The fact that bigger waste exists doesn't excuse the smaller waste.
- It perpetuates the lie that "more guns equal more crime and fewer guns equal less crime"

fickman wrote:- It encourages BGs to steal guns from legitimate owners

How does it do that?

There was no amnesty for those turning in the guns. The weapons were being checked to see if they were stolen

Remember, with a gun you can miss. With a knife, you don't...

Captain Matt wrote:

fickman wrote:- It encourages BGs to steal guns from legitimate owners

How does it do that?

There was no amnesty for those turning in the guns. The weapons were being checked to see if they were stolen

This particular buy-back was a no-amnesty buy-back, but it seems that the majority of them are offered with a "get out of jail free" card where amnesty is offered and no checks will be performed on the weapons or those that turn the weapons in, offering murderers the perfect opportunity to get rid of their murder weapons.

Captain Matt wrote:

fickman wrote:- It encourages BGs to steal guns from legitimate owners

How does it do that?

There was no amnesty for those turning in the guns. The weapons were being checked to see if they were stolen

As stated, most of these have amnesty, which leads to the situation described by barres.

Even without amnesty, it's a way for BGs to get easy, fast cash. It may not be hardened, violent criminals with assaults, robberies, and murders on their records that steal the legitimately owned firearms for this type of buyback, but you could have petty thieves, crack heads, and all sorts of other lowlifes looking to steal some steel that they can cash in for more than street value.

The logical person would think, "Well, if they steal a gun used in a crime and turn it in, they could get accused." My responses are 1) I doubt the lowlifes we're talking about put that much thought into it, 2) they probably feel safe that generic suburban-guy with a few firearms hasn't committed any crimes, 3) they can always say they found it, bought it, or acquired it very recently.

It probably won't cause an epidemic of gun thefts, but it's just one more reason that buybacks are a bad idea.

fickman wrote:

There was no amnesty for those turning in the guns. The weapons were being checked to see if they were stolen

As stated, most of these have amnesty, which leads to the situation described by barres.

My bad. I thought we were talking about this buyback in South Carolina.

fickman wrote:Even without amnesty, it's a way for BGs to get easy, fast cash.

They can get more cash selling it on texasguntrader.com or gunbroker.com or a gun show. More cash means more reasons for BGs to steal guns from legitimate owners. What should we do about them?