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FROM YAHOO NEWS: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090214/ap_ ... _for_roses" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Trade a gun for a rose in SC on Valentine's Day

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Sat Feb 14, 4:09 pm ET

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Police in South Carolina gave away roses on Valentine's Day. All you had to do to get one for your sweetie was turn in a gun.

Hoping to get the weapons off the streets with the "Guns for Roses" program, authorities in two central South Carolina cities set up a program where anyone who turned in a gun received a free rose and a Best Buy gift card.

At a Columbia church, five cars lined up to give away guns before the exchange had even started. At the end of the day, Columbia area police had collected 191 weapons and police in Sumter collected 32.

"We've got a great turnout so far," Richland County sheriff's spokesman Lt. Chris Cowan said.

A handgun was worth a $100 gift card, while a rifle or shotgun netted a $50 gift certificate. Cowan said one man turned in six handguns, worth $600 in gift cards.

Cowan did not immediately have a total value for gift cards given out. Sumter Police Chief Patty Patterson said her program gave out $550 in gift cards for long guns and $2,100 for handguns.

There was no amnesty for those turning in the guns. The weapons were being checked to see if they were stolen, names and addresses were jotted down and ballistics tests would also be done to see if the firearm was used in a crime.

Both Cowan and Patterson said there were no incidents and no arrests made Saturday.

Cowan said the idea was spawned in part by Columbia Police Chief T.P. Carter and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, who has made headlines recently for investigating Michael Phelps after a photo surfaced showing the Olympic swimming champion smoking a marijuana pipe. The program was modeled after a California one; similar exchanges have been done in New York and San Francisco.

Cowan said gun donors were young and old, men and woman. Many had a big smile and some said it was a relief to get rid of the weapons.

And did they even care about the rose?

"Most of them have taken it," Cowan said.

Cowan said gun donors were young and old, men and woman. Many had a big smile and some said it was a relief to get rid of the weapons.

Wonder if they will feel the same way when someones breaking in their house and they don't have anything to defend themselves.I got a gun that is broke and parts are impossible to find and even if I found the parts would cost more to fix than it's worth, so I would trade it for 100.00 gift certificate and tell them where they could put my rose

Another thread on this going here http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... 94&t=22530" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

dukalmighty wrote:

Cowan said gun donors were young and old, men and woman. Many had a big smile and some said it was a relief to get rid of the weapons.

Wonder if they will feel the same way when someones breaking in their house and they don't have anything to defend themselves.

http://www.ktre.com/Global/story.asp?S=9846181" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have known these ladies, their parents, Brothers & Sisters cousins, & the whole clan, the shooter, & a lot of his family for years. The daughter, who was the original target, was a CHL & carried in her purse 24-7. Separation had put her in a real bind & she sold her pistol.
Never sell you personal defense arms. The few hundred dollars is soon gone but danger is ever present

dukalmighty wrote:Wonder if they will feel the same way when someones breaking in their house and they don't have anything to defend themselves.I got a gun that is broke and parts are impossible to find and even if I found the parts would cost more to fix than it's worth, so I would trade it for 100.00 gift certificate and tell them where they could put my rose

If they do anything like this in TX, let me know. I've got a broken Bernardelli that I'd love to get $100 for.

Edit to add: No, I wouldn't sell it to another shooter for $100, though if someone needed the parts, I'd take $50 for what's still in the box, FTF, as-is. (After two moves, I know the slide and frame are there, but I haven't cared enough to see what else survived.)

This subject was started last evening.

http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... 94&t=22530" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

we gun owners constantly gripe, complain, and otherwise deride the gun buybacks. I believe we gun owners should support something like this, but not just like it. Now before I start getting flamed, and/or forcibly committed to a mental hospital you should read on. It would be nice to fund a "Safe streets" project where the guns would be bought from the people who wish to dispose of them. The guns would then be checked to see if they were stolen and/or used in a crime. Stolen weapons would be returned to their rightful owners. We gun owners would donate money to fund this project, and those who donate would be allowed to participate in the first round of auctions that would be limited to those who donated either money and/or time/effort to the project (this would include the LEOs and/or their departments who participated in the effort). Guns that didn't sell in the initial auctions would then go on to be sold in auctions available to the general public. Proceeds from this effort would then go to efforts like funding additional buy backs like it, supporting law enforcement, and supporting organizations who fight to preserve our rights.

Ok, so I had either a brain storm or am suffering from a head injury. But I am getting sick of seeing these buy backs where the guns get destroyed.

Why don't these people, you know, just sell their guns for what they're worth?

G.A. Heath wrote:we gun owners constantly gripe, complain, and otherwise deride the gun buybacks. I believe we gun owners should support something like this, but not just like it. Now before I start getting flamed, and/or forcibly committed to a mental hospital you should read on. It would be nice to fund a "Safe streets" project where the guns would be bought from the people who wish to dispose of them. The guns would then be checked to see if they were stolen and/or used in a crime. Stolen weapons would be returned to their rightful owners. We gun owners would donate money to fund this project, and those who donate would be allowed to participate in the first round of auctions that would be limited to those who donated either money and/or time/effort to the project (this would include the LEOs and/or their departments who participated in the effort). Guns that didn't sell in the initial auctions would then go on to be sold in auctions available to the general public. Proceeds from this effort would then go to efforts like funding additional buy backs like it, supporting law enforcement, and supporting organizations who fight to preserve our rights.

Ok, so I had either a brain storm or am suffering from a head injury. But I am getting sick of seeing these buy backs where the guns get destroyed.

I like it. Makes too much sense though. They want the evil firearms gone so the BGs will have to resort to something less sinister like a knife.

G.A. Heath wrote:we gun owners constantly gripe, complain, and otherwise deride the gun buybacks. I believe we gun owners should support something like this, but not just like it. Now before I start getting flamed, and/or forcibly committed to a mental hospital you should read on. It would be nice to fund a "Safe streets" project where the guns would be bought from the people who wish to dispose of them. The guns would then be checked to see if they were stolen and/or used in a crime. Stolen weapons would be returned to their rightful owners. We gun owners would donate money to fund this project, and those who donate would be allowed to participate in the first round of auctions that would be limited to those who donated either money and/or time/effort to the project (this would include the LEOs and/or their departments who participated in the effort). Guns that didn't sell in the initial auctions would then go on to be sold in auctions available to the general public. Proceeds from this effort would then go to efforts like funding additional buy backs like it, supporting law enforcement, and supporting organizations who fight to preserve our rights.

Ok, so I had either a brain storm or am suffering from a head injury. But I am getting sick of seeing these buy backs where the guns get destroyed.

This makes a lot of sense. I wonder what it would take to put one of these together. I also wonder if anything decent gets turned in... If so, I bet it is a small percentage.

My brother-in-law found a box of old revolvers in his grandparents' garage. He's going to keep the Smith & Wesson .38 special police, but there were about four busted up, rusty, falling apart snub-nosed .22 revolvers. They're not worth fixing up, and definitely aren't collectibles. I bet he'd take $400 for them.

Am I the only one who doesn't see what's so bad about this?

jorge wrote:Am I the only one who doesn't see what's so bad about this?

Yes.

I don't see public officials/agencies/bodies making offers to induce us to give up our other constitutional rights. Why should they try to get us to give up this one?

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.