The second phase of the great Grand Rapids Police gun turn-in of 2020 has come and gone. On 7 November, at 851 Leonard St. NW, police stopped the turn-in. The program was labled with the Orwellian term "buyback". A police department cannot "buyback" what it never owned. The vast majority of the over 450 million privately owned guns in the United States were never owned by any local, state, or national government entity. There were a few million guns sold surplus after the great wars; but those are about 1% of the total number.
Most of the guns in the picture put on facebook by the Grand Rapids Police Department are older antiques and inexpensive models. In the center of the picture, with plastic simulated ivory grips, is an old acquaintance, the RG-14. It is an inexpensive revolver, but it generally works. I was able to shoot a 2 inch group with one at 50 feet, using a rest and a lot of concentration to overcome the horrible trigger. It might be worth $50. The program paid $100.
As expected, the program ran out of gift cards early. Most of the cards were probably used on 24 October, when 107 firearms were turned in. It appear another 53 firearms were turned in on 7 November. Exactly when the program was shut down is uncertain. The time stamp on the announcement at the Grand Rapids Police Department Facebook page shows 9:09 a.m. The program was not scheduled to start until 10 a.m. From the facebook page:
This past Saturday, the Gun Buy Back was forced to end early, as all of the funds were spent. One hundred sixty firearms were turned in.This program has been a great success. The City and the GRPD greatly appreciates the support, as we continue to work towards being the safest mid-sized city in the US.
EPIC FAIL today by the Grand Rapids Police Department, they held a gun buy back at Genesis Non-Profit Housing Corporation located at 851 Leonard St. NW 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. When I got there at 1:00 the GRPD was gone and the parking lot was full of guys paying cash for guns.
The Grand Rapids Police Facebook page is the only coverage of the event on 7 November found in several searches of the Internet. This is not surprising, because the paucity of results, combined with the private buyers on the scene, contradict and destroy the propaganda value of the event.
The academic community pretty much agrees the only value of such events is the propaganda value. This report in the wausaupilotandreview.com from January, 2020, does a decent job of showing this, in spite of the Orwellian terms used, such as "Gun Violence" and "buyback". From the report:
“Given the empirical evidence, police agencies may use gun buyback programs not with the expectation of reducing violent crime, but to satisfy the public’s expectations,” the authors write. “When serious crime problems occur, mayors and police chiefs are under pressure from their constituents to ‘do something dramatic and effective’ about the violence.”
These gun "buyback" programs are part of the larger culture war. They are designed to send a message: Guns bad. Turn them in to the police.
Private buyers at these events cancel the "guns bad" message. They send the message: Guns Good. I pay cash.
The culture warriors who picked up some guns for a little money in Grand Rapids, Michigan, while placing guns which might end up on the street into responsible hands, were achieving the program's stated purpose, while canceling the unstated propaganda message.
©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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