AL: Cheap Gun Opportunity in Selma

There will be a gun turn in event in Selma, Alabama on Saturday, 7 November,  2015.  While these events are commonly labelled with the propaganda term "buyback" the guns were never owned by the people attempting to buy them.  The turn in event will be at 2013 Clinton Ave, at the Macedonia Apostolic Church.

The event is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 11:59 both at the same source.   People often turn up early at these events.  Those that show up early get the deals or the incentives.  These events often run out of incentives long before the scheduled closing time.

The incentive for the gun turn in is a $75.  It is not clear if the incentive will be cash or a gift card.   From selmtimesjournal.com:

The church will buy guns of all kinds from people with no questions asked.

(snip)

Each gun is worth $75, and Pettus hopes to have at least $5,000 to buy as many guns as they can.

There have been previous turn in events in Selma, Alabama.  The Macedonian Church has participated in four of them.  Last year, more than 60 guns were turned in.

This event is said to be "no questions asked".   Private buyers at turn in events have sometimes been questioned by police.

Private sales of firearms in Alabama are legal.   Laws change, so Alabama private buyers should perform their own research to conform with the law.  


Private buyers should look for easy places for people to park so that the merchandise can be looked at prior to purchase.  Often people bring several guns to these turn in events.   Local knowledge would be very helpful.   The event organizers are asking people who are turning in guns to put them in the trunk of their vehicle:

Guns must be transported in a clear plastic bag and must be separated from ammunition. If transported by car, the guns must be kept in the trunk.

You might want to read the insider story by private buyers in Jacksonville Florida to see how things were handled there.

Be prepared for a percentage of people who refuse to talk to anyone but police. All the private buyers that I saw at gun turn ins were polite and let ideologically driven people turn in their guns for a fraction of what they would be worth on the open market.

Signs are helpful, as are good grooming, cash, and a friendly attitude. Dale Carnegie's advise for dealing with people works very well. Risks of purchasing stolen guns are small. You can read about them at this article.

Across the country, communities, police departments and churches are sponsoring gun turn-ins to get "guns off the street". At many of these events, private buyers are showing up, offering cash for the more valuable guns. These private additions to the public turn-in are effective, no doubt, in getting more guns off the street, because they add to the resources that are available to those who want to get rid of guns for something of value, be it a grocery card or a number of twenty dollar bills.

You can help make the turn-in in your area more effective by standing on the curb with your "Cash for Guns" sign, or at a folding table, willing to offer more than the gift card for firearms that are more valuable. It would be best if numerous private parties were available, as more good guns could then be transferred into responsible hands.

This action serves many useful purposes. It stretches the turn-in budget so that more guns can be taken off the street. It helps keep fearful widows from being defrauded of most of the market value of the gun they are turning in. It prevents valuable assets from being destroyed by bureaucratic inflexibility. It is a win-win-win situation. The ideal situation for those organizing the turn in would be to allow private buyers to purchase the valuable guns, while having the organizers take the cheap guns "off the streets". As these events are ideologically driven, that seems unlikely, but it might be worth an attempt at outreach. All parties would benefit.

Private buyers dispel the pernicious message that guns are bad and should be destroyed.

Other people use the events to obtain resources to buy better guns.  Homemade shotguns were turned in for money in Virginia.

Link to potential legal risk of buying a gun at one of these events

Link to article with numerous examples of private sales at gun turn in events

Link to an article about private buyers at Detroit event

Link to Phoenix Article: pictures of private buyers

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.  Link to Gun Watch