MI:Gun advocate: Wayne County gun buyback just a 'glorified dog and pony show'

DETROIT — Rick Ector, a firearms instructor and advocate from Detroit, along with a number of other pro-gun activists, plan to compete with the government to purchase the public's unwanted guns Saturday.

While Wayne County plans to offer $50 in groceries from Meijer stores; Ector's group plans to offer cash, in many cases several hundred dollars, he said.

Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano vowed during his State of the County speech in March to launch a gun buyback program aimed at removing unwanted guns from homes, thereby reducing violence.

The first event, dubbed Groceries for Guns, takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at New St. Paul Tabernacle Church of God in Christ in Detroit at the corner of Fenkell and the Southfield Freeway (M39).

Anyone may turn in a gun, "no questions asked," in exchange for a $50 Meijer gift card.

Ector calls gun buyback events "exploitative" and "ineffective."

"We refer to them as glorified dog and pony shows," Ector said. "We live in a community in which there is at least one murder, two rapes, 36 armed robberies and 87 aggravated assaults every single day in the city of Detroit.

"They need some positive press... They can smile in front of the cameras and say, 'Hey, we're doing something... we're making Detroit safer.'"

Ector takes issue with, among other things, the "transparency" of the event.

Officials say they check each gun to ensure that it's not stolen and claims to destroy each gun they receive.

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