TANSTAAFL - Los Angeles' Gun Buyback - a waste of money and a bad way to reduce crime

Come one, come all! Welcome to to one of the most futile exercises in modern law enforcement! Some really smart people, like someone who failed the California Bar four times think that you can reduce crime by giving away gift cards for groceries for ANY guns, in any condition.

Do you have a rusted, .32 caliber revolver where the firing pin busted off and it won't shoot? Handgun = $50!!

How about a .22 caliber, single shot where the entire trigger group is thoroughly corroded - the only way it is lethal is if it is used as a bludgeoning object. Rifle = $100!!!

And a $200 gift card for an "assault rifle as classified in the state of California"! Uhm, no way does anyone turn in a working semi-automatic rifle (or even fully auto) that works for this amount. You can't even find these so-called assault rifles anywhere in the county (let alone all of California), and when they do show up for $2000 a piece they get snatched up within seconds of the store opening its doors.

According to John Lott and anyone with the ability to think rationally, no criminal is going to turn his primary tool in. If he did, it'd be to either a) get rid of a weapon used in a crime or b) get rid of a crappy gun and use the money towards a better, working gun. I'm sure Ray Ray, Jose or Tyler will be showing up to this to turn in their primary tool.

Most guns used in crimes aren't these guns being turned in. If a gun is used, there's a really good chance it was stolen. The only way a gun buyback reduces any crime is by depriving the potential thief or burglar of a weapon. If you turn it in, they can't steal it now. Is that worth all this promotion and outlaying of cash?

Whatever - this city's going to hell in a handbasket. The illegitimacy rate is astounding, the poverty rate is not to be believed, the schools suck (even with social promotion and bogus standards, the dropout rate is one out of every five.) and if people think that giving up a good source of self-defense for a few days' worth of groceries is a good idea then they deserve what they get. What I do care about is the 2 - 4 hours worth of fucking paperwork I would have to complete should anyone turn in their guns that they don't want anymore that I am now saved by this futile crime reducing endeavor. I'm full Ron Swanson on this issue: go ahead, do your foolish, ill-advised, feels-good-but-does-no-good leftist thing - I'll root for the smart person getting $50-$100 for paper weights.