It takes no great leap of logic to see that “gun buybacks” create a market for stolen firearms. When authorities offer the general public an opportunity to exchange firearms for cash on a “no questions asked” basis, they eliminate the risk of a criminal transaction. At that point, it’s only a matter of economics. Are the po-po offering more money than the street price for a functional firearm? Sorry, functional or non-functional firearm? So how much does a refurbished laptop go for these days? ‘Cause . . .
With all of the gun violence in Baltimore, one group is trading guns for laptop computers.
The program allows people to bring a gun – no questions asked – Saturday, July 13th, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Cultural Arts Center on Howard Street. In exchange, a family can receive one of 150 refurbished laptop computers.
The effort is being made by Digit All Systems [auto-plays porn music]. It is hoped that the effort will get guns off the streets.
Once again, the media (wbal.com) unconsciously and unquestioningly promotes the idea that guns are inherently, profoundly, unavoidably “bad.” Guns on the streets! Quick! Everyone! Indoors! There’s no telling what those guns might do!
Truth be told, a civilized society wants guns on the street. As John Lott proved in More Guns Less Crime, our streets are safer when law-abiding citizens exercise their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms.
“We just want to give them access and training, so we’re going to give the free training. We do certifications as computer techs and ethical hackers — jobs that are in high demand — so when you trade one thing for another, it’s a good education for a street life,” said Digit All Systems spokesman Lance Lucas.
Wait. What? Did Lance just say that computer techs and “ethical hackers” are good preparation for “street life”? Street life as in drug dealing and gang banging? I mean, aren’t proper tech jobs desk jobs? I must have read that wrong.
Here’s an idea: how about recycling those guns for law-abiding citizens and teaching them how to use them for armed self-defense? You could even do most of the training on a refurbished laptop.
The mayor [who shall remain nameless] is hoping the program will help get guns off the streets.
“Education has been a proven key indicator of change for communities torn by violence, and we’re asking people to surrender violence as they surrender their firearms for an opportunity at a more positive future,” she said.
I hereby surrender my broken-ass gun and pledge not to do violence to anyone, including people who attack me with firearms that they won’t surrender because they want to be able to do violence to me, my family and/or members of my community. So help me God. No really. Help me God. ‘Cause I can’t help myself.
“Wait. What? Did Lance just say that computer techs and “ethical hackers” are good preparation for “street life”?”
No, he didn’t. He’s talking about trading street life for a good education. “…So when you trade one thing [street life, guns] for another [good education, laptops]…”
“I must have read that wrong.”
Yep. 😉
Thank you.
I hereby surrender my broken-ass gun and pledge not to do violence to anyone, including people who attack me with firearms that they won’t surrender because they want to be able to do violence to me, my family and/or members of my community*.
*and steal this laptop
You could have some fun with this. Grab an old LAW tube from a military surplus store and trade it in for a laptop. See just how serious they are about no questions asked
That old rusty H&R .410 Topper with a broken ejector and duct tape holding the stock makes a good trade on a new laptop. Sign me up!
I feel sorry for the person who traded that Valmet rifle on the middle left and the Ithica 37 on the upper right.
The mental leap of the progressive mind should be studied. How one believes that the people trading in guns are the same ones who will become “computer techs and ethical hackers ” is just hilarious to me. The thought that all is needed is a refurb laptop and some bogus certificate training and you are good to go and go get a job is further hilarity. The only one making out is the guy selling the crappy laptops.
Another feel good solution that ultimately does nothing but hey, in their minds, they did “something” and that is all that counts. Now that they are satiated in that they did “something” all is right in the world.
THE absolute funniest thing about that whole thing is this: They KNOW the market is saturated with grads who paid good money to colleges to be trained as those techs and “hackers.” They also KNOW that the bigger businesses are IGNORING all the new talent in favor of crying that there is no talent in the U.S., and thus we need more H1-B work Visas to take advantage of cheap labor foreigners. (AND… where they can get away with it, exploit said foreigners.)
Actually, they have. Where do you people live? In the inner city, just because a 12-16yo kid lives in the hood DOES NOT mean they don’t have goals and aspirations and are doomed to a life of crime, many of them have already since 1998 been mentored and moved on to bigger, better, more. It’s a matter of guidance. If they can get a great job in IT then perhaps someday they can legally have their own firearm to protect their family instead of choosing the only life they’ve seen around them — stealing guns and shooting people, random kids in the street, old ladies in their own homes, etc. One kid at a time, this is really happening. Whether this blog sees it or not. Possessing firearms legally is one thing. But this inner city gun violence issue is WAY out of control. Tweens and guns don’t mix.
Baltimore is a lost cause.
Never hopeless. Shame, shame.
I can see the 1st home evasion call now to the po-po 911 operator: sir you say you had a home invader and you what? …..you threw your lap top at him?….(operator hangs up laughing uncontrollably)
That Rohm 22 revolver probably cost the owner $75, not a bad trade for a working laptop.
Wow, what a great idea. We should do this in Chicago, I’m sure all the gangbangers will go for it. Its a great way to turn over a new leaf and become an honest member of society. Why didn’t I think of this.
Thank you. It initiates change – don’t be a thug and steal guns for violence – give inner city folks a choice, trade your illegal-could-be-crime weapon for opportunity. IDK how so many people think it’s funny. Saving one life, even just one innocent little girl on the street shot randomly by a kid with no target practice, to me = WIN. 🙂
Please stop putting up the gun grabbers “hero shot” of the guns they have taken….it makes me sad to see nice guns gone to ruin. It never fails that among all the rusty junk I can find a number of nice guns that would make someone safer and happier to own.
How can I get in on this? I have quite a few old laptops that I’d like to trade for guns.
Give away crappy, useless, attic gun. Get refurb laptop. Sell laptop. Buy new, better, more reliable gun…
…derp.
From budsgunshop.com via the laptop
My scar is worth about 100 of those crappy laptops
Seems to me that the key word in there is “surrender”. “Surrender” this, “surrender” that, but whatever you do, “SURRENDER”.
I think I could make the drive to Baltimore and make this trade and still come out in top. I could even stop for BBQ in NC on the way.
I’d trade in my airsoft gun to get a laptop. It’d save me quite a bit of grant money, and they wouldn’t know the difference. 🙂
One thing good about the lap top trade they will know who you are!!
This is really sick. As a computer guy, I often take the time to find old laptops, install some sort of GNU/Linux distribution and give them away to families that need them. Instead of doing what should be done, the city is going to take advantage of something that should be given freely and are using it to make a political statement. These laptops are old, I know because historically they are thrown away. They’re not even worth the price of a cheap gun, but they can still be a great learning tool Now instead of having poor kids get access to one of these machines, a criminal will be able to dump a piece of evidence for a cheap computer.
Laptops that are not even worth the price of a new battery (as on a 4yr old Sony laptop with useless battery, WiFi, drisk drive which I would trade for anything intersting with a working bangswitch (or a brick of 22LR)).
Seriously? The gov’t was a PARTNER in this effort. This nonprofit has been at this since ’98, has refurbished and given away thousands of free computers to inner city schools, community org’s and kids in need. DIGIT ALL SYSTEMS invented this “trade your gun for laptop” campaign in an effort to bring ‘could be thugs’ to a new and better life. So what if their grandma brought the gun in for them, the point is, they can get a TOOL to LEARN and SUCCEED INSTEAD OF USING THAT GUN. In addition to getting that laptop, they were also offered FREE IT CLASSES for A+ certifications and beyond, a career, a life outside of crime. THAT was the point, showing our young (and possibly older) people a new and better way, a way out of gangs and violence and a lucrative means of providing for your family no matter where you come from, or who taught you that hustling and violence is the way to live. You can thank the nonprofit http://www.digitallsystems.org for this, NOT some kind of ploy the city put in place. If it saved even ONE life, why hate on this program? Digit All Systems has worked so hard for so long to make a difference in this world, providing IT classes to underserved populations for many years. And everyone reads a very small part of the story and bashes it. I’m floored.
where do I need to move so that I can trade in my old laptops for guns?
Someone should bring in a bucket of 50 cent zip guns and walk out with their whole stock of tech. I think that would be absolutely hysterical.
I wonder how many “family” members will swap their new laptop for a gun on Sunday?
Front and center in that picture I see an RG-10 .22 short revolver. I was browsing gunbroker one day and made a lowball bid on one of those because why not. I never expected to win the auction at such a ridiculously low price, but I did. The cost to ship that thing to me was more than the gun itself. Factor in the FFL transfer fee, and “shipping & handling” was almost twice the price of the gun.
I took it to the range once and could never shake the feeling that firing this gun was one of the most unsafe things I’ve ever done. Did I mention it fires .22 shorts? Anyway, I keep it around because it makes for a good story, but I couldn’t ever imagine an actual criminal wanting to use that thing for anything.
So now you can get a refurbished laptop for it. Sweet!
Guns for laptops?
Yeah, I’ve got a few old laptops I’d be willing to trade in.
Among the junk are some real honeys. Sad.
Is that a Gold Cup in the middle? That had better be one damn nice laptop.
Are you guys really that ignorant of the real issue here? This nonprofit — they not only offered “trade in your gun — but could-be thugs also had a real oppty to take FREE IT CLASSES and get certified in high level IT programs that would start them out in the fast growing IT field. It was an oppty for them to LEARN instead of using that gun. I don’t care if it didn’t work right, if it was their grandmom’s, or even if grandma brought it in for them. It gave them a CHOICE: use that gun vs. get an education and become someone, make a lucrative career that is LEGAL and likely makes more money than a life of crime. How the initial post doesn’t see the “big picture” of this amazing, hardworking for over 15yrs nonprofit’s vision, is beyond me.
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