Topic: Gift cards for guns

[Duffil]

I can't believe people actually did this...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071202/ap_on_re_us/gifts_for_guns

[KDXSR5]

what a waste of perfectly good guns. This is terrible.

[NT-OUTBACK]

I don't see it as a bad thing, I bet most them are garbage anyways.

[kneedownnate]

God, I don't even have to read it to know what it's about  

They always say "we're helping to get more guns off the street!", but what they fail to see is that all they're doing is getting guns out of the hands of honest citizens!  Nobody with an ounce of sense could possibly believe that anybody who would willingly turn in a gun would commit a gun related crime.  Gun owners aren't criminals, it just so happens that criminals will steal guns. 

[abnormaltoy]

I can't believe people actually did this...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071202/ap_on_re_us/gifts_for_guns

It's Frisco, what do you expect? Between the guns, plastic water bottles and shopping bags the mean   streets of Frisco are safe for all the interior designers.

[kneedownnate]

So it seems they allow people to turn in guns without showing id?!  So how many criminals do you think steal guns and turn them in for free money?

[NT-OUTBACK]

 what they fail to see is that all they're doing is getting guns out of the hands of honest citizens! 

That's a bit of stretch

These people are voluntarily giving them up in exchange for something.

Honest citizens? I'm willing to bet some of these people were unsavory at best and figured they could sell the gift card for more than their piece of crap sawed off with a rusty barrel.

[skipnrocks]

That's a bit of stretch

These people are voluntarily giving them up in exchange for something.

Honest citizens? I'm willing to bet some of these people were unsavory at best and figured they could sell the gift card for more than their piece of crap sawed off with a rusty barrel.

I dont know the details of what went on but I would suppose there is a stronge possibility that some of those guns were stolen just to turn in for cash, some maybe people had that they wanted to get rid of and new they would get more turning it in then it was worse....   I think gun laws in most cases take the guns from the honest, but it sounds like these people were willingly taking them in which makes me guess that it had no effect on the average gun owner that has one for sport or protection...

[Duffil [OP]]

I dont know the details of what went on but I would suppose there is a stronge possibility that some of those guns were stolen just to turn in for cash, some maybe people had that they wanted to get rid of and new they would get more turning it in then it was worse....   I think gun laws in most cases take the guns from the honest, but it sounds like these people were willingly taking them in which makes me guess that it had no effect on the average gun owner that has one for sport or protection...

you are right that is doesn't affect the average gun owner and this was totally voluntary, but the government is disarming the public without them realizing it. 

[skipnrocks]

you are right that is doesn't affect the average gun owner and this was totally voluntary, but the government is disarming the public without them realizing it. 

Duffil how old are you? 
out of curiosity not out of disrespect...

[KDXSR5]

I agree with you duffil, the government is trying to rip off the public while making it seem like it is a good thing. If this kind of thing were to happen up here in WY it wouldn't last long at all. *COUGH*liberals*COUGH*

[skipnrocks]

God, I don't even have to read it to know what it's about  

You should take the time to read the article, it wasnt just a praise of a wonderfull program but it represented the pros and cons the praise and shortcomings of such a program....  Not a bad article I didnt think... And I am definatly pro gun...

[kneedownnate]

I scanned it, hence my second post.  I know very well what these stupid programs do, and as I and others pointed out there's a strong chance people are stealing guns just to turn them in. 

[Duffil [OP]]

I scanned it, hence my second post.  I know very well what these stupid programs do, and as I and others pointed out there's a strong chance people are stealing guns just to turn them in. 

here ya go Nate:

Peter Buxtun, a 70-year-old gun advocate, turned in two pistols Saturday that he said were worthless. He collected $300 in gift cards.

"You can buy junk guns for $10 and then use the gift cards to buy new guns," he said. "I saw a half-dozen uniformed SF police officers taken off the street to sit for hours in a City Hall photo-op, instead of patrolling certain drug-ridden and gang-infested neighborhoods."

not exactly the same thing, but it dies show the idea is floating, even in a 70 year old man.

[KDXSR5]

SAN FRANCISCO - A man carrying a semiautomatic handgun approached a group of San Francisco police officers Saturday afternoon and, with a smile, handed over the pistol in exchange for $150 in gift cards.    
 
"I used to fire it at bottles or do some plinking in the woods," said the gun's owner, 48-year-old Bruce Bourne. "But I have a 6-year-old daughter now and my wife was uncomfortable with it being in the house."

Funny thing is, my parents BOUGHT a couple of guns when I was born for protection.

For a few hours on a sunny yet brisk Saturday, San Francisco police officers accepted 100 guns from about 80 people in the city's second "Gifts for Guns" event. The first event in July brought in 117 handguns and 2 shotguns.

The idea is to make the streets seem a little safer when the city's murder rate has risen in recent years — San Francisco has had at least 89 homicides so far this year.

Keyword here is "seem"

Among the 100 guns collected Saturday were 4 assault rifles and two sawed-off shotguns, said Mikail Ali, director of the mayor's office of criminal justice.

As Ali discussed the city's efforts to curb violence another man walked up with a large, black gun case. He took out a black assault rifle with a folding stock and pistol grip and turned it in.

"Twenty years ago you could buy a gun like that legally in California. Some were registered properly, some weren't," Ali said.

California law makes owning an assault weapon illegal, but Gifts for Guns allows people to turn in their firearms without showing identification, and officials promise not to ask any questions about the guns' origins.

Once in police custody the guns are checked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to see if they were stolen. Ali said 99 percent of the guns recovered are destroyed and, if the guns were stolen, they are returned to their owners, if possible.

Participants received $100 gift cards for turning in rifles or shotguns, $150 cards for revolvers or semiautomatic pistols and $200 cards for assault-type weapons like AK-47s.

But not everyone participating in the gun program Saturday believed it was helpful.

Peter Buxtun, a 70-year-old gun advocate, turned in two pistols Saturday that he said were worthless. He collected $300 in gift cards.

This guy knows what is up!

"You can buy junk guns for $10 and then use the gift cards to buy new guns," he said. "I saw a half-dozen uniformed SF police officers taken off the street to sit for hours in a City Hall photo-op, instead of patrolling certain drug-ridden and gang-infested neighborhoods."

I agree with him, go do something important, not take guns away from the public.

EDIT: you are too fast for me

[NT-OUTBACK]

Some people act like they are turning in mint Winchester lever actions and Wilson Combat 1911's. Attempt to disarm America please I'm willing to bet that guys $10 handguns would not even fire and what good is a gun that won't fire.

[skipnrocks]

Some people act like they are turning in mint Winchester lever actions and Wilson Combat 1911's. Attempt to disarm America please I'm willing to bet that guys $10 handguns would not even fire and what good is a gun that won't fire.

LOL Didnt he say that when he turned in his two worthless handguns they gave him enough money to buy a brand new one,  so maybe its a program to get rid of rusty guns for newer ones,  haha maybe the gun companies plotted this to get sanfran to pay people to buy their guns!!!

[BLACKDOG]

Some people act like they are turning in mint Winchester lever actions and Wilson Combat 1911's. Attempt to disarm America please I'm willing to bet that guys $10 handguns would not even fire and what good is a gun that won't fire.

Sad thing is, some people probably did get rid of good and antique guns.  That guy probably saw an opportunity because as you said, his guns prolyl didn't fire, and he knew they were worthless.  I'da done the same thing if I had some crappy guns that weren't worth jack.

I too see this as an attempt to disarm America.  We have a right to bear arms, and for a government organization to encourage us to turn them in is despicable.  It just shows the way this country is headed if we allow it.

[unclejpl4x4]

ok  if its a ilegal gun .. thats fine



but 2 turn in a legal gun worth $$$ for 150$ gift card ....................    some one needs 2 be shot

[KDXSR5]

 

[Trunkz]

you can get a high point .380 pistol.. cant hit crap with it lol for about 95$ plus tax, if you had a couple sitting round for when they are offering 150$ gift cards for them you can make a nice 50% profit off them

[Plekto]

I can so imagine some guy trading in something like 20 old .25 ACPs in all sorts of disrepair


But seriously - good grief.  Someone selling an unobtainium rifle that they bought 20+ years ago legally but that is illegal now?

[kneedownnate]

True, wonder how many midnight specials got turned in for 4 times the cost

I couldn't do it though.  When they gave me the gift certificates I wouldn't be able to say very sarcastically "just trying to make the streets safer  "

[Trunkz]

i gots some old ww2 rifles sitting round that i wouldnt trust to shoot spitwads through and are througholy worthless.. cant wait for another one of these round here

[kneedownnate]

What kinds?  My mauser is probably older than most, if not all, board members and will shoot just as well as most modern rifles.  Post up some pics!

[skipnrocks]

What kinds?  My mauser is probably older than most, if not all, board members and will shoot just as well as most modern rifles.  Post up some pics!

I have a few oldies that I inherited from my grandfather,  I have a ww2 riffle, a few ww1 riffles an 18?? lever action riffle a 1912 double barrel shotgun, and a few others.

[KDXSR5]

I have a 1899 Model Savage 303 that was not converted to the British 303 round. I got it from my great grandfather. It hasn't been shot since the late 1910s or early 1920s.

[kneedownnate]

I have a few oldies that I inherited from my grandfather,  I have a ww2 riffle, a few ww1 riffles an 18?? lever action riffle a 1912 double barrel shotgun, and a few others.

Do you know which models the old military rifles are though?

[skipnrocks]

Do you know which models the old military rifles are though?

I will check over christmas break, I keep them in my dads gun safe back in montana.  But Ill check when I go home