Seattle's first gun buy-back in 20 years set for Saturday
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SEATTLE - The city's first gun buy-back in more than 20 years is set to happen Saturday - with gift cards being offered for each weapon.
In the wake of mass shootings around the nation - from the school massacre in Connecticut to the deadly rampage at a cafe in Seattle last year - guns have been getting a lot of attention, and so have controversial efforts to buy back weapons.
Some say it just doesn't work - that criminals with guns are in no rush to turn them in.
But Seattle is going to give it another try, much like the city did in 1992 when there was an out-of-control gang problem, somehow hoping violent crime will take a hit.
"Police will take possession of the weapon and offer a gift card in return, depending on the type of gun," says Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. "No photos will be taken; no questions will be asked."
Participants will receive a gift card worth up to $100 for each handgun, rifle or shotgun turned in.
Assault weapons can be worth twice as much. And additional gift cards will be given for high-capacity magazines that come with the guns.
A program supported by Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is donating money to back the effort to get weapons off the streets.
The outreach program, led by Carroll, called "A Better Seattle," has contributed $10,000 to support the gun buy-back push, but it's still unclear just how many weapons will be handed over.
Nearly $120,000 to buy back the weapons and ammunition also has been raised by the Seattle Police Foundation, nonprofits, the University of Washington Medical Center and private businesses such as Amazon.
"If we can prevent just one child, one innocent bystander, from being the victim of a random accident or the target of an unstable person, it will be well worth our time and effort," says King County Executive Dow Constantine.
The buy-back starts Saturday morning at 9 and contnues until 3 p.m. The location is between James and Cherry streets near downtown in a parking lot right under Interstate 5.
The weapons need to be unloaded when they're turned in - preferably stored in the trunk or a locked box.
Police say those who are not driving to the location should not walk up with a gun in their hands. Instead, they should get an officer's attention well before entering the location.
The last time a buy-back program was held in Seattle - in 1992 - about 1,10 weapons were turned in. Most of the collected guns are typically melted down.
In the wake of mass shootings around the nation - from the school massacre in Connecticut to the deadly rampage at a cafe in Seattle last year - guns have been getting a lot of attention, and so have controversial efforts to buy back weapons.
Some say it just doesn't work - that criminals with guns are in no rush to turn them in.
But Seattle is going to give it another try, much like the city did in 1992 when there was an out-of-control gang problem, somehow hoping violent crime will take a hit.
"Police will take possession of the weapon and offer a gift card in return, depending on the type of gun," says Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. "No photos will be taken; no questions will be asked."
Participants will receive a gift card worth up to $100 for each handgun, rifle or shotgun turned in.
Assault weapons can be worth twice as much. And additional gift cards will be given for high-capacity magazines that come with the guns.
A program supported by Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is donating money to back the effort to get weapons off the streets.
The outreach program, led by Carroll, called "A Better Seattle," has contributed $10,000 to support the gun buy-back push, but it's still unclear just how many weapons will be handed over.
Nearly $120,000 to buy back the weapons and ammunition also has been raised by the Seattle Police Foundation, nonprofits, the University of Washington Medical Center and private businesses such as Amazon.
"If we can prevent just one child, one innocent bystander, from being the victim of a random accident or the target of an unstable person, it will be well worth our time and effort," says King County Executive Dow Constantine.
The buy-back starts Saturday morning at 9 and contnues until 3 p.m. The location is between James and Cherry streets near downtown in a parking lot right under Interstate 5.
The weapons need to be unloaded when they're turned in - preferably stored in the trunk or a locked box.
Police say those who are not driving to the location should not walk up with a gun in their hands. Instead, they should get an officer's attention well before entering the location.
The last time a buy-back program was held in Seattle - in 1992 - about 1,10 weapons were turned in. Most of the collected guns are typically melted down.
OK... since I donât have any depth perception and am also partially night-blind⦠I choose to not own a gun.  And I've been on the wrong end of guns in my past and do not recall the experiences very fondly.
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But I do want to ask a favor.
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If any of you live in apartments, condos, âcommon wallâ construction, would you get some âPersonal Protectionâ rounds for your gun if available? Or check into something with a reduced load? The fact is that you all know the majority of âtenants-in-commonâ construction is worthless at stopping a slug from that firepower you are packing. Iâd really not become collateral damage.Â
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Second request⦠I understand that you all think that the President is a raving dictator who is trying to field strip you of your rights, and a certain number of you also think that you need to be armed to perform your possibly necessary role in a second revolution⦠but look you MIGHT want to lighten up just a touch⦠because you are scaring the holy living bejesus out of some of us... you really don't want a big chunk of the population thinking that you are gleefully getting ready for the big revolution. Even if you are.
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Please remember that we know how to dial 1-800-SEND THE TANKS AND BOMBERS.Â
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I don't think anyone is going to take jack from you so please just chill.
 @Mark Jessup There are alot of folks out there who just enjoy driving out in the hills and going shooting for a day. I'm pretty sure the feds aren't going to show up knocking on my door demanding guns, and if so, they would be carrying a lot more, and bigger ones. I don't threaten anyone and have never pointed a gun at another human. I'm law abiding and handle my guns with a great deal of safety. They are locked up when not in use. Because of my respect for guns, I expect others to respect my right to use them safely and responsibly. I just can't see how restricting my use prevents crime.
 @Mark Jessup Some of your respondents are way late on their meds!
 @JLS1950 Drop the propaganda. I take extreme offense to anyone trying to water down the words of another through baseless accusations. Odds are you'll hide behind "it was just a joke". People don't have to be on drugs to believe something that you cannot.
 @Mark Jessup "I understand that you all think that the President is a raving dictator who is trying to field strip you of your rights, and a certain number of you also think that you need to be armed to perform your possibly necessary role in a second revolution"You said we "think".You are wrong, WE KNOW.We being many people like you and then people like Cops, Sheriff, Lawyers and oh yeah, congress and the bill of rights."I don't think anyone is going to take jack from you so please just chill."You "think" but you do not know. It is hard for you to see the world this way because i  believe you are a good person. You could not stomach taking the rights of people away and just cannot understand why someone would. I envy you, it isn't ignorance you have, it's love of man and faith that you hold.Â
@Mark Jessup I know guys in those bombers and tanks and many wont come unless it is to support us. So dial it back a little yourself. I was with you until that second to last devisive statement.
 @whatifafrog  Oh, you think they'll only come to shoot unarmed kids on college campuses... is that it? In the military, you do what your orders tell you to do, or you risk being shot yourself. Cross into criminal or treasonous behavior, and all your supposed "buddies" are not going to save your -ss from justice.
@JLS1950 @whatifafrog Served 23 years, I know military law not hollywierd law. There are many who will follow their conviction. Military Law says you do not have to follow an unlawful order, an order you believe violates the constitution falls in that category. Will there be consequence? Sure, but to think our finest are mindless idiots who will follow any order regardless is insulting. They will follow many they hate as I have under certain presidents and commanders, but we are not mindless drones. Look at both the American Revolution and the Civil War. Many of England's commanders and many of the Union's commanders switched sides. To say it can't or won't happen simply is wrong. My man point was for the devisive Mr Jessup to dial it back a notch so there can be a conversation. If you boil it down, both the Revolution and Civil War started when some stopped talking and started shooting.
I just watched as an elderly lady turned in a nickel Colt Python 4".  From a personal standpoint, I nearly cried. But this woman could have received somewhere between $1400-$2000+ at current fair market value....I bet that one doesn't make it to the furnace.
DAMMIT. Poor old lady should have gone to a gun dealer, gotten a fair price.
 @bagsofdirt I got all teary eyed just reading your post. That poor old lady just got hosed, and she doesn't even know it. All for a "feel good" moment. :{
@Harley-H.S.C. @bagsofdirt - Well... maybe the NRA could develop a "buy back" program of it's own, for resale to members. Yah us libtards would scream... but underneath it we would know that people would be being treated fairly who wanted to remove guns from their home or whatever... and they were being put into hands that we have a hope might use and keep them responsibly.
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Just a thought...
 @Mark Jessup Thats why gun enthusiast 's were in line offering more at this event.
@Mark Jessup agreed
If their going to offer you peanuts, they could at least try not to be diks.
I just returned from the gun buy back. The line was really long. Then some fat motor cycle cop yelled at me for not being in the right line. So I turned around and left. I would rather sell it to INF Teamleader.
Wow..Let's go shopping! Meet the folks before they go in. We could offer  $105.00 CASH to the seller.."no questions asked". I would like a nice old 22 pump riffle and a revolver for target shooting...and they are several hundred dollars to buy. UP to $100.00 GIFT CARD? The gun is worth more in trade for the drug addict...so who are we targeting here? People who find guns along side the road and need a sandwich? Hahhaha! Sorry..but this is a strange idea that seems to target the wrong people, could rip off the needy who has their grandfathers antique gun and encourages stupidity and waste! Who the heck thought this up?
 @Not quite the perfect IDIOT
This guy thought it was a good theory back in December...Â
http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2019939014_millerwashpostgunsbuybackxml.html
@Not quite the perfect IDIOT - I shall reply as the "at-this-moment-resident-libtard" in the thread... it's totally a "feel-good" PR concept. The point that you are making is absolutely valid. I will repeat a comment I made above... the regional NRA could offer a very logical buy-back program... garbage guns could be taken in... their owners advised that they were of no value but you'll be happy to see to their destruction. When situations such as the above-mentioned "little-old-lady" come in with something of obvious value the NRA purchases it or arranges it's sale to a member in good standing... she winds up with a fair price and feels better... and those of us who think you are absolutely lunatics for having guns at all at least know that it wound up in hands "more likely" to treat it responsibly.
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Contrary to popular opinion... many of us libtards can fully understand the enjoyment of owning something rare and collectible... or just simply extremely well made and of exceptional quality... and the pleasure of using it. It shouldn't wind up in somebody's hands by default.
 @Mark Jessup  @Not Mark, we here at KOMO's Commenting Emporium have no shortage of "libtards." Your word not mine. I prefer the more visceral, "Proggy" when I throw out the hominem bombs. Oops, I said "Bombs!" That's a scary word, too. I am the resident Right Wing Fiscal Conservative Socially Indifferent to Moderate with a Sharp Side of Sarcasm with a Dollop of Schadenfreude. Welcome, sir. to KOMO.  We could use a Prog with a little sense of humor.
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And you don't photograph all that well.
Just sayin'.:)
After all of the guns are traded in, no questions asked, I wonder if they're going to run serial numbers on them to see if they're stolen and get them back to their owners if they are. Or are they just going to go on a liberal frenzied "Destroy Dem Bad Ol Guns A Thon?" And if some ARE stolen, and get returned to the owners, are the owners going to have to reimburse the police for the $100 "feel good ticket?"
@Harley-H.S.C. Not if they are reminded that the cost of responding to a far worse situation involving that gun would have greatly exceeded $100.
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Keep in mind that the police are working a percentage here. Some druggie snags a gun, worth nada and it winds up being pawned off to the cops for the $100 gift card. The process of converting that to actual cash will chew up some of that price tag... so somebody has less to spend on drugs.
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Far better than someone trying to rob someone with it that results in a multiple unit response and lots of police... and so much cheaper.
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Amazing but true libtard point of view - some of us ARE actually cheap and don't like to see money wasted. From my perspective this isn't a bad return on investment, and it's being done on donated money from folks like me who believe in a "better - fluffier" world.
 @Mark Jessup Who is going to protect your "better - fluffier" world?
 @Harley-H.S.C. Do you really think the police would even consider returning stolen guns to their rightful owner? I'm sure that almost all victims of gun theft would gladly reimburse the police $100 to get their gun back. This is not about returning stolen property it's about giving criminals a chance to dispose of useless guns.
 @Ned According to K5 the police will run the serial numbers and return stolen guns to their rightful owners. They won't be running ballistics however, so guns that have been used in crimes that weren't reported as stolen will be lost evidence.
Unless one of the "gift card givers" likes the gun themselves....then somehow it will just be "liberated" into their private collection?Â
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I sure hope we can get an objective reporter down there at the scene to report the truth. I'm really curious to find out what kind of pieces of garbage get turned in, and just how many people are dumb enough to turn in a perfectly good weapon worth several hundred dollars, only to get a hundred. I'm hoping the police are honest enough to tell someone that the gun they are turning in to be destroyed is actually a collectible worth a couple thousand dollars, should that happen. I'd like to see an unbiased report on what happens here. How about the unvarnished truth KOMO?
 @SargeMcC *snicker* "Unvarnished truth?" From mainstream media? Surely you jest.
 @Harley-H.S.C. Yeah, I know it's quite a challenge and they probably aren't up to the task, but maybe someone will make an attempt.
 @SargeMcC Nice. I just dumped an old Ironhead a couple weeks before Christmas that was nickle and diming me to death, and picked up an '02 Heritage. Kinda miss the "old school" but like the fact that I can get from A to B without breaking down. lol.
 @Harley-H.S.C. Yes, it's my scoot, a '65 Panhead in an '82 frame, kind of a Frankenharley. It'll cover some serious ground though, for as old as it is.
 @SargeMcC Been meaning to ask you, is that your ride in your avatar, and what is it?
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@INF Teamleader See my post at the top.
For all you people who support Obama and eat up all the crap he says about guns out there, the US has been supplying the Syrian rebels with weapons. Why?? I have no idea why would the Syrian rebels need any kind of weapons!!!!! they have supplied other countries many times like Afghanistan, countries in Africa, Mexico, and many other unstable countries.
The Bill of Rights was written to prevent a majority from a taking the rights of a minority. The constitution was written to identify the authority granted the government by the people and the procedure to change it was made difficult to ensure a tyrannical government (and the ignorant) couldn't change it at will. http://archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html Today, we have citizens who would like to interpret the 2nd Amendment to their liking, so they will feel 'safe'. We have a president who is eager to abuse executive orders to enact legislation. Fortunately, he is being called on some of these violations by the courts and no doubt more will follow with his recent gun control executive orders. I am greatly saddened by the number of people who are so willing to compromise the American dream as documented in the Constitution for some 'feel good' legislation that will accomplish nothing except to compromise the rights of the law abiding. It is all part of the dumbing down of America as part of the "progressive" dream.
I think we should all show up and just start a bidding war
 @ChrisandJessica Loyd We will be there to purchase those bad black rifles from people too stupid to own them.
 @ChrisandJessica Loyd ""Police will take possession of the weapon and offer a gift card in return, depending on the type of gun," says Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. "No photos will be taken; no questions will be asked."  Some folks will be bringing guns they don't legally own.  Your purchasing that gun would likely lead to criminal charges, possession of stolen property, trafficking in stolen property, etc.
 @jennifer .  @ChrisandJessica Loyd Wrong, this action is perfectly legal.
http://m.upi.com/story/UPI-33521359320703/
They might be able to get Federal funding for this program if they'd just rename it "Guns for Egypt."
Will they take an antique captured World War 2 era Panzerfaust 60?
 @m9078jk3 I will!
So...if I turn in my $1500 rifle, I get a $100 gift card and bonus gift cards for my magazines too? Â What's the catch?!?!
 @Jazz Hands the catch is you just screwed yourself if you do that.
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 @blackbearlover  @Jazz Hands I'll show up with my staple gun and with high capacity staple magazine.  It did say GUN buy back.Â
 @Jazz Hands  @blackbearlover Hey, they want to throw little children in jail over paper guns and hello kitty bubble guns, it would be philosophically hypocritical of them not to.
 @Jazz Hands They want you to think it's a "feel good moment".
I am visiting Australia right now and I don't know where the people who get on this board and tell you how well banning guns are working down here get their information?
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Since this is such a hot topic back at home I bring it up with everyone I in contact with and no one down here likes it with maybe the exception of the criminals who now find that assults and home invation robberies are easier than ever now.
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Their crime numbers and crimes with gun have gone up despite a promise from the government that it would have the opposite effect!!!
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Meanwhile the number of on the street law enforment officers has dropped sigificately due to budget cuts!
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The few lawabiding who do have guns (non-pump type rifles, single shot mostly) must keep them locked and dissabled at home, making them totally usless for their personal protection.
They need to buyback their drugs while they're at it.
Hopefully only criminals are stupid enough to turn in their guns for the paltry amount they are offering.