Wisconsin protest courtesy David C

Madison, Wisconsin had a gun turn-in event last weekend. This type of event is also known as a gun “buy back” — a propaganda term designed to convince people that all guns (property) belong to the government, and that anything the government takes it is simple taking “back.” This event turned out to be a bust . . .

Only one gun appears to have been turned in. Statistically, in Wisconsin, it was likely a broken single shot shotgun or an old .22 rifle.

Academics have routinely found that gun turn-in events do not produce useful results, and likely waste of police resources. From the 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.

This isn’t a particularly unusual conclusion; academic studies reveal again and again that gun “buybacks” don’t reduce crime, and point out that police resources could be better focused elsewhere.

In 2000, Harvard academic and notorious gun control proponent Garen Wintemute had a definite opinion about gun turn-ins. “The continuation of buyback programs is a triumph of wishful thinking over all the available evidence,” Dr. Wintermute told  chicagotribune.com.

In the intervening 16 years, Mr. Wintemute has changed his thinking. He now admits that the propaganda value of “buybacks” is the most important part of the program. From governing.com:

“They have intangible value that we have really been underestimating,” he says. “They never will reduce rates of violent crime, but that may have been the wrong parameter to look at.”

As part of a larger discussion about public safety, Wintemute says, buybacks may play an important role in mobilizing a community to examine gun control.

Like all gun “buybacks” that was the hidden purpose — and the only result — of the Madison turn-in  event. From nbc15.com:

“The event today is designed save youths. These young ladies right here need to grow up without getting shot, without getting shot, without worrying about their mom, dad being shot. It’s too much senseless violence and mainly in the black community,” Maymon said.

Madison police collected at least one gun as a result of the program and they also passed out free gun locks to registered gun owners.

Scott L. Schable in the comments:

Wisconsin does not require registration of all firearms, and cities cannot force registration. Cities have never owned the firearms, so the “gun buybacks” are a scam, so it needs to reported that Madison and other cities don’t want to enforce the gun laws, and just make the sanctuary cities for criminals and gangs.

We may never know if there were any private buyers at the Madison event. But we do know that private buyers destroy the propaganda value of the message that “guns are bad, turn them in to the police.” Private buyers send the message that guns are useful for armed self-defense. As we know they are.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

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29 COMMENTS

  2. “Passed out gun locks to registered gun owners”. How do the police know which people are registered, unless they voluntarily registered at the event? I assumed WI has a pistol registration law based on that statement, but I was able to find that it doesn’t.

    • Wisconsin does not have a pistol registration law, or any gun registration.

      It is typical reporter ignorance, or deliberately pushing the idea that guns should be registered.

        • Indeed and its crazy how many people think a permit is needed in many states when it is not.

    • They did not want to assume liability for the lousy locks, so they only passed them out to Wisconsin registered gun owners.

    • No gun registration in WI. Just propaganda to establish in ppls minds that responsible gun owners are always registered

      • I’m sure they’re accurately reporting that they gave out gun locks to owners of NFA items. It would be irresponsible to report falsehood right?

  3. Oh, that’s seriously RICH… I have to see the doctor this morning, and remembering this will help me a lot. Laughter is the best medicine. 🙂

  4. I’m laughing here. One gun. And I’ll bet the folks running it still “feel” better.

  5. Because if it gets just one gun off the street…….CHECK! Mission accomplished.

  7. Registered owner is anti-gun speech where normal people would say legal gun owners. What they actually do is hand out free gun locks to anyone who will take one. The only use I have found for one of them is to use it to secure my pistol to my car, should I need to go one of the rare places in GA where my pistol is legally forbidden. Anti gun owner bigots constantly the the phrase registered gun because they want to get gun muggles use to the idea to reduce resistance to registration for the next time they get enough legislative power to try it.

  8. Well, when they get push-back long enough, eventually thet commit a Kinsley-Gaffee. The mask always slips, evenrually.

    Yes, it is about the propaganda value. Yes, it is about seeding the notion of mandating locks, or whatdver. Because, no, it isn’t about safety. Not one life. But if only one gun is taken…

    No, it ain’t for tbe children. “No guns for you.” is its own goal.

  9. Sole purpose of Gun buybacks are for police to get overtime, funded in part by civil asset forfeitures.

    • There’s also the chance to screw some elderly surviving spouse out of a firearm that’s been sitting on a shelf for years and whose high value they’re ignorant of.

      They won’t mention that on the event signage or at the press conference, but it’s on some people’s minds, I’m sure.

  11. It must be frustrating to be a libtard in Wisconsin. Milwaukee has a pro-2A conservative Sheriff who runs as a Democrat, and the state has a conservative Republican governor who beat back a recall attempt with a wider margin than his original election.

    Madison is a typical left-wing university town. Thankfully, they’re still outnumbered by voters in the rural areas.

  13. “…whereas old guns just sit there.”

    What? I thought all guns were sentient and evil, and constantly called a siren song to their owners pleading to be taken out and allowed to murder? Who knew they were just inert hunks of wood, plastic, and metal?

  14. “The event today is designed save youths. These young ladies right here need to grow up without getting shot, without getting shot, without worrying about their mom, dad being shot. It’s too much senseless violence and mainly in the black community,” Maymon said.

    Right, right…It’s the guns, not the community. If not for the guns, the inner cities would be full of little children on unicorns shitting jelly beans (the unicorns, not the children…creeper).

    Perhaps a little self inspection is in order to determine the root cause of your, “…senseless violence and mainly in the black community.” Sounds like you found the answer but are unwilling to digest it.

    • “The event today is designed save youths. These young ladies right here need to grow up without getting shot harmed, without getting shot harmed, without worrying about their mom, dad being shot harmed. It’s too much senseless violence and mainly in the black community,” Maymon said.

      There, fixed it. Thing is, if thugs, predators, crazies and the occasional terrorist weren’t so invested in doing harm to peaceful people, it wouldn’t matter what means were available to the thugs & etc. They could have nukes, and if they weren’t bat-guano crazy, it just wouldn’t matter. Responsible, peaceful people with guns or anything else, and it just doesn’t matter.

      Conversely, responsible, peaceful people with the means to equalize the results a bit when they are thugged upon, predated, or the object or crazy or terrorism is a net gain. So, when does the program issuing govt guns to the public start?

  15. Quite a bit better participation in Chiraq for “buybacks”. Like hundreds. And they just made a gal “woman of the year” for confiscating(stealing) a young black childs BB gun caught on camera phone…”but it coulda’ been real!”

  16. Too funny, one gun turned in. The author probably has it right that the turned in firearm was some old run of the mill broken .22. Also it was probably turned in by a lawful gun owner who now has extra money at tax payer expense to buy a new .22 rifle. No criminal was within a 1000 yards of that event!!

  17. This type of event is also known as a gun “buy back” — a propaganda term designed to convince people that all guns (property) belong to the government, and that anything the government takes it is simple taking “back.”
    Glad somebody else besides me figured that out.
    This is why we have worthless Gun Buyback Programs to remind us that owning guns is a government privilege and not a right.

  18. In one SE Wisconsin community, the last gun “buyback” had some rather loose rules, and one seller went out and bought seven Daisy RedRyder BB guns (“you’ll buyback your eye out!” lol) specifically for the event for a total of $120, and “sold them back” to the hoplophobes, under the laughing gaze of the local police, for $350. They haven’t tried a “buyback” since.

  19. It’s the little things that keep me loving, and staying in, Wisconsin. Little things like the turn in count at this “buy back”.
    We need those guns. Just in case Canada gets invasive.?

  20. in wisconsin you can take your ccl class for free…send in your paperwork on monday with $40 and get it back on friday…and you can open carry a handgun at the age of 18 without a ccl…the 2nd amendment and the vitter amendment are codified in the state constitution…and we have castle doctrine and stand your ground
    its almost as good as constitutional carry

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