NJ: Bill to Fund Gun Turn in Events "buy backs" Bucks Trend

Gun turn in events have been losing steam for several years.  Academics agree that they are ineffective; activists agree that in most states, they end up as advertisements for gun ownership.  Only in states such as New Jersey, where private sales are highly regulated, are they contemplated with much enthusiasm by disarmists.  But, New Jersey does make private sales more difficult than most states; and they are contemplating state financed gun turn in events.  From bergendispatch.com:

Legislation sponsored by Assemblyman John F. McKeon, Speaker Vincent Prieto and Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly that would create a statewide gun buyback program in an effort to reduce the number of firearms in New Jersey communities gained approval from the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Monday.

The bill would mandate nine turn in events each year, funded by the state (although private donations would be accepted).   In these programs guns would be turned in anonymously, for monetary rewards.  One third of the programs would be required to be held in high crime areas.  The author of Freakonomics summed up the academic view of gun turn in events the best (the term "buyback" is pure propaganda. The people buying the guns never owned them before.) From "Freakonomics" web site:

When it comes to gun buybacks, both the theory and the data could not be clearer in showing that they don’t work. The only guns that get turned in are ones that people put little value on anyway. There is no impact on crime. On the positive side, the “cash for clunkers” program is more attractive than the gun buyback program because, as long as they are being driven, old cars pollute, whereas old guns just sit there.

In New Jersey, where the Second Amendment is actively infringed, private buyer competition is discouraged.  In other states, private buyers flock to the gun turn in events.  The new media covers the private buyers, which forces the old media to do so as well.  The message from this activity is that the people turning in guns for the paltry sums offered are either being taken advantage of by the state, which destroys the valuable property for no good reason; or that the state is foolishly wasting money to buy and destroy junk.

Only one "buyback" system makes any sense, and that is an innovative Ohio program founded by Deer Park City Councilman Charles Tassel, called "Street Rescue".  In that system, people can turn in guns that they do not want; then the guns are sold to legal dealers. The money is used to buy more guns that people do not want, essentially "recycling" guns from people who do not want them, but do not want to take the time to sell them, themselves.

That message is far, far different from the nanny-state message of most "buy back" events.  That "buyback" message, where valuable guns are destroyed, is: "Guns are Bad. Turn them in to the Police."  Many promoters of gun turn in events openly proclaim that it is the message they are pushing; actual effects of the event are secondary.

I have my doubts that the New Jersey bill will pass.  It is a stupid waste of taxpayer dollars.  But that has never stopped disarmist politicians before. All handgun sales in New Jersey require government approval before they are allowed to legally happen.  That effectively bans the private purchase of  handguns at market prices at these events. If might be possible to arrange private sales of long guns; but police can disqualify people who have the an FID issued by the state, which is necessary to buy a long gun privately.  This likely chills attempts to buy privately at New Jersey "buybacks".

A willing seller and a willing buyer could theoretically arrange to meet at a government approved shop, pay the fees and wait for the red tape to be done.  It is theoretically "possible".  But then the sale is no longer "private".  It is a government monitored transaction where everyone is registered and tracked, and it makes those firearms subject to government confiscation at any time.

Definition of  disarmist

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