http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/31/if-bridgeport-ct-can-raise-130000-for-a-gun-buyback-program-why-cant-seattle Comments On: If Bridgeport, CT Can Raise $130,000 for a Gun Buyback Program, Why Can't Seattle? by Goldy en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Tue, 21 May 2013 02:30:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
Butthurt much? The point is that when I see that kind of claim being used to try and push non-privately funded buybacks and/or claims that "wow, look what we took off the streets, aren't we awesome" comments, it detracts from the larger picture. Your unsubstantiated claims that there are "extraordinary rates of gun owner deaths in blah blah blah" have nothing to do with the lost history I'm lamenting.

Consider this woman: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/20… She's lucky the police had the forthrightness and honesty to say "you'd do much better selling this privately than to us." It's cool that people who don't know firearms or inherited them (and I would wager the vast majority of inheritance has nothing to do with the nefarious reasons you suggest) can get rid of them to a trusted third party rather than letting them sit around where they could pose a danger due to the owners' own lack of care about them.

Bringing up insanely stupid hypotheticals about time machines to choose who to prevent the birth of doesn't do you any favors. It makes you look like more of a nutter than I suspect a lot of Slog readers believe me to be. More than one thing can be bad or annoying at a time, there's no mutual exclusivity between disliking grandstanding politicians and disliking genocidal maniacs.
Posted by Tawnos]]> Tue, 01 Jan 2013 22:16:16 -0800 The Stranger
Oh, hell I forgot.

Why, oh why, do so many fine old guns get sold for next to nothing at a gun buyback?

Could it be the sudden, unexpected death of the gun owner? Could it be that due to the extraordinary rates of gun owner deaths in robberies and burglaries, and accidental shootings, and suicides, that many many lovely gun collections suddenly change hands to a wife or other relative who has no idea what to do with them? And so they sit around for a few years until an easy way to dispose of the lot comes along in the form of a buyback.

If only gun owners could live to a ripe old age and have their valuable collection dealt with according to their long-planned wishes. If only gun owners didn't continually die unexpectedly.

What a conundrum!

Perhaps the NRA needs to campaign for gun owners to get their affairs in order. But what message would that send...?
Posted by Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn]]> Tue, 01 Jan 2013 14:41:31 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Cascadian Bacon]]> Tue, 01 Jan 2013 14:35:53 -0800 The Stranger
O the humanity! The horror! It's like like a... a HOLOCAUST of grandstanding.

I bet if you had a time machine and you could either go back and prevent the birth of HITLER or prevent the birth of a grandstanding politician who misidentified a dummy grenade launcher as real, you'd have like an IMPOSSIBLE choice. Which to choose? Which is worse? BOTH!

Thanks for telling me about the misidentified grenade launcher. I can no longer sleep at night.
Posted by Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn]]> Tue, 01 Jan 2013 14:07:34 -0800 The Stranger Posted by BLUE]]> Tue, 01 Jan 2013 10:45:25 -0800 The Stranger
What I dislike is when you get grandstanding by politicians, such as happened in LA recently, where they show things that weren't actually dangerous that they are proud to have "taken off the street", such as an RPG that is clearly marked "trainer"
Posted by Tawnos]]> Tue, 01 Jan 2013 09:46:15 -0800 The Stranger Posted by CbytheSea]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 21:55:29 -0800 The Stranger
It literally is a hood. One great, big, giant hood with a massive port. Imagine the following:

You take South Park, Sodo, Georgetown, Rainier Valley, and Harbor Island, and Beacon Hill. Now clone it repeatedly until it takes up as much land as all of Seattle: that's Bridgeport.
Posted by Joe Szilagyi]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 21:28:46 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Chris Jury]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 20:41:26 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Fred Flintstone]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 20:37:09 -0800 The Stranger Posted by thinker]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 19:11:14 -0800 The Stranger Posted by MikeB]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 19:08:01 -0800 The Stranger
I would guess it's their strategy of normalizing gun ownership. To make guns ubiquitous, and even wholesome. A gun in every kitchen. A gun for every 5th birthday present.

But get all those guns out of people's daily lives and people to revert to the more natural, more sinister image of guns.
Posted by Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:18:36 -0800 The Stranger
Well that and they're mainly white and Asian. Baltimore has ten times the black population and, go figure, ten times the murder rate.
Posted by But let's blame the guns, it's politically correct]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:48:45 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Earnest Earl]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:45:42 -0800 The Stranger
Don't you think your typical gang member has enough self-esteem to own a gun that will impress his label?
Posted by Earnest Earl]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:33:01 -0800 The Stranger Probably end up being resold...just like the (Cash for) Clunkers that disappeared into the back of the chop shops.

Posted by Supreme Ruler Of The Universe]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:20:19 -0800 The Stranger
not to mention the futility of forcing a market underground, especially one as large as guns. name 1 underground market you don't want to see legalized and regulated. can you?

it's also mildly amusing how people pretend like the 2nd amendment doesn't exist. now you can take this to batshit-insane levels both ways, but if some asshole on the eastside can sue light rail into the ground for decades over environment or land-use bullshit, you can bet your ass the millions of adult americans with money that support guns, some of which are smart lawyers, will stalemate the whole thing in court for all of our lifetimes.

so why bother? people kill people. be nice to each other. maybe fix health care? idk.
Posted by Swearengen]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:19:25 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Earnest Earl]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:15:19 -0800 The Stranger Posted by internet_jen]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:10:19 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Earnest Earl]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:02:54 -0800 The Stranger
I too have some cash to throw at this. However, I have very little time to do any organizing. Would The Stranger like to put some its law enforcement and social organizing contacts to work? Could be a pretty big coup for the paper.

First step would be to get buy-in from the SPD, making sure we do everything by the book. Will also require a call to the ATF, just to clarify what the rules are, and what paperwork needs to happen. We would need to organize the transportation of collected guns, and safe storage until they can be destroyed. We will need word on who/how they can best be melted down. Likely also want to can a local museum/historian to keep an eye on the line in case anything of interest shows up. @17 thinks it should be in the CD, in conjunction with a late night bake sale...sounds fun. If we do it there I will buy everyone working a couple pieces of chicken from the little grocery store on MLK and 23rd (? maybe?). The Ethiopian family that owns it makes the best chicken ever- you seriously have to try it.
Posted by Chris Jury]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 15:55:15 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Earnest Earl]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 15:35:58 -0800 The Stranger Posted by asquaredroot]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 14:59:09 -0800 The Stranger Posted by kk in seattle]]> Mon, 31 Dec 2012 14:57:01 -0800 The Stranger