Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Sparking Dialogue or Sparking Joy: Competing Views on Gun “Buyback” Initiatives

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Sparking Dialogue or Sparking Joy: Competing Views on Gun “Buyback” Initiatives

The Christian Science Monitor describes itself as “an independent international news organization” that wants to “help you to see news events as starting points for constructive conversations.” Its editorial board recently published an article, A seed for society’s safety: Gun buybacks, discussing why New Zealand’s “gun buyback” program could serve as a useful model on how the government can engage with gun owners in this country.

According to the piece, the “voluntary nature of gun buybacks – along with the incentive of being compensated – gives them a special place in the worldwide debate over gun regulations.”

In the case of the New Zealand program, it is neither a “buyback” nor voluntary. Apart from the quibble that the privately-owned guns have not been owned or sold by the government such that any later relinquishment is, in fact, a “buy back,” there’s nothing optional about the program, unless the decision between surrendering your property or facing hard jail time can be said to represent a real and honest choice.

Under New Zealand’s new firearm law, the Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Regulations 2019, the possession of “prohibited firearms, magazines and parts” is a crime, although the law includes an “amnesty period” which runs until December 20, 2019. Residents are forbidden to use these firearms during that period; the purpose of the amnesty is solely to give private owners and licensed dealers time in which to surrender their property to the police. The compensation for doing so is restricted by a “base price” set by the government, with an automatic discount built-in – a new firearm is only eligible for maximum compensation of 95% of the base price, and compensation for certain new magazines or parts is capped at 70% of the base price amount. Under the government’s price list, for example, compensation for a new suppressor cannot exceed $350, even though the assigned base value is $500. Moreover, no compensation is being offered for ammunition and other accessories (like optical scopes) that become useless without a firearm. 

Such “incentivizing” compensation cannot eclipse the fact that compliance with the New Zealand program rests on the threat of criminal prosecution. The New Zealand Police warn that “people should hand in their prohibited firearms, magazines and parts during the amnesty period.” If they do not, or “do not demonstrate any intent to do so, then Police will take action.” Criminal penalties for the new possession offenses begin at two years’ imprisonment for possessing a prohibited part or magazine, and increase exponentially.

There are other fundamental problems with gun “buybacks.” The CSM article admits that “criminals or potential mass shooters are very unlikely to turn in their guns,” and the “effectiveness of such buybacks” in reducing crime “is highly uncertain.”

Nonetheless, the CSM argues the value of these programs is that they “help stir the thinking of gun owners,” as the “popular buyback program” in New Zealand allegedly sparked a nationwide attitude shift. Such “programs help bring gun owners in contact with police and others in a community, fostering a dialogue about the ways to keep everyone safe,” because New Zealand’s gun owners, “when given an opportunity to think about safety, took their arms to the police rather than taking up arms.”

This completely misses the point. Law-abiding citizens are not the ones responsible for crimes and firearm violence, and fostering a “dialogue” that appears to pave the way for a “second tranche” of even more government restrictions on legitimate gun owners will not change this. A compulsory government program of firearm confiscation is only “popular” in the same way that paying income tax is “popular” – few (if any) would volunteer to opt in absent the element of criminal sanctions. And if government “buybacks” are really and truly about promoting community safety, it makes no sense to shrug off the critical detail that criminals and other evil-minded persons are “very unlikely” to be the ones giving up their guns.

Closer to home, a voluntary “buyback” program in Baltimore, Maryland provides insight into the actual transformative impact of these events, which appears to be less Kumbaya than KonMarie.

Last December, officials in Baltimore held a series of gun “buybacks” for city residents. Any resident who wanted to turn in their gun or magazine was free to do so, including any “legitimate gun owner” who no longer had “a need for that weapon.” Then-mayor Catherine E. Pugh candidly explained that the objective was to take in as many guns as possible, regardless of their potential for use in street crime. “Our point here is, there are guns on the streets of our city. We are signaling folks out there, we don’t care if it’s Grandpa’s gun or your gun, we want it.” The city paid up to $500 in cash for each firearm, irrespective of condition, and $25 for every “high capacity” (over ten round) magazine. All transactions were completely anonymous.

Savvy citizens could use the event to make a quick profit on magazines (retailing, in many cases, at significantly less than $25) or their inoperative wall-hangers. One happy participant brought in the barreled action of a bolt action shotgun; another advised she was turning in a handgun so she could upgrade to a better gun. One source described the overall haul as akin to “the bargain table (or maybe trash bin) at your local gun show.” And although the buyback was open to Baltimore residents only, the no-questions-asked process potentially meant that anyone within driving distance could cash in.

While those at the CSM are certainly free to believe that buybacks “help bring a community together to look at the foundations of peace,” an editorial in the Baltimore Sun more practically concluded that the event was a complete waste of government resources. Momentous language about the deliverance of peace aside, it observed that too often, “buybacks” do more towards decluttering basements than reducing the number of guns in the hands of criminals.          

IN THIS ARTICLE
gun "buyback"
TRENDING NOW
Congress Passes the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Now Headed to President Trump

News  

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Congress Passes the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Now Headed to President Trump

Earlier today the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” This bill contained a provision that would, among other things, eliminate the burdensome $200 excise tax imposed by federal law on suppressors, short-barreled firearms, ...

One Big Beautiful Bill Clears Senate, and Heads Back to House

News  

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

One Big Beautiful Bill Clears Senate, and Heads Back to House

Earlier today the U.S. Senate passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” This bill contained a provision that would, among other things, eliminate the burdensome $200 excise tax imposed by federal law on suppressors, short-barreled firearms, and “any ...

U.S. House Sends Reconciliation Bill to President Trump

News  

Second Amendment  

Thursday, July 3, 2025

U.S. House Sends Reconciliation Bill to President Trump

NFA Tax on Suppressors, Short-Barreled Firearms, and Other Arms Reduced to $0

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

News  

Second Amendment  

Thursday, May 22, 2025

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act, completely removing suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA).

U.S. Senate Adds Pro-Gun Tax Relief Language Back into Reconciliation Bill

News  

Saturday, June 28, 2025

U.S. Senate Adds Pro-Gun Tax Relief Language Back into Reconciliation Bill

Overnight, the U.S. Senate added pro-gun tax relief language back into the Reconciliation bill after the Senate Parliamentarian struck out an earlier provision.  While this new provision is not as expansive as the language we advocated for which ...

President Trump Signs the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into Law

News  

Friday, July 4, 2025

President Trump Signs the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into Law

Earlier today, on the 4th of July, a day on which our Founding Fathers declared their intent for a free nation, the President of the United State of America, Donald Trump, signed the “One Big ...

Armed Churchgoers Prevent Mass Attack as State Lawmakers Plot More Gun Control

News  

Monday, June 30, 2025

Armed Churchgoers Prevent Mass Attack as State Lawmakers Plot More Gun Control

Just over an hour away from the state capitol in Lansing, Michigan – even as lawmakers worked feverishly to pass various gun control measures, including expansion of “gun free” zones – a chilling reminder unfolded of the ...

North Carolina: Update on Gun Bills Moving through the General Assembly

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Gun Bills Moving through the General Assembly

Recently, House Bill 193 (H193) was reported favorably out of both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Rules Committee, with amendments.

Canada’s Big Ugly Gun Grab: An Update

News  

Monday, June 30, 2025

Canada’s Big Ugly Gun Grab: An Update

Canada’s Liberal government is pressing on with its harebrained gun ban and confiscation program for “assault style weapons,” but, true to form and precedents, it has been far from smooth sailing.

Washington Post Admits that Anti-gun Lawfare “Cannot be the Solution” to Crime

News  

Monday, March 17, 2025

Washington Post Admits that Anti-gun Lawfare “Cannot be the Solution” to Crime

In a turnabout worthy of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Washington Post (WAPO) published an editorial last Tuesday criticizing the gun control movement for ignoring the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) and pursuing its agenda in ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.