At least two states are considering legislation that would ban local governments from sponsoring programs that would compensate gun owners for turning in their firearms.
The Michigan House passed HB 5479 this week on a 58-49 vote, and the Wyoming House passed HB28 on a 55-4 vote. Both bills shore up state preemption laws by disallowing local municipalities from hosting “gun buybacks” on the taxpayer’s dime.
Speaking in favor of Michigan’s bill, sponsor Rep. Annette Glenn argued that it’s not the place of local governments to use taxpayer money to purchase firearms from residents. She also noted that such buybacks unfairly compete with gun stores that would otherwise be able to purchase and re-sell used firearms.
“While our state and federal constitution guarantees every citizen the right to keep and bear arms, no citizen has the right to sell old firearms to a unit of government at taxpayer expense,” she said.
SEE ALSO: Gun Buybacks Are Waste of Time, No Evidence They Reduce Crime
The Wyoming bill passed with less opposition than Michigan’s measure, but bill sponsor Rep. Tyler Lindholm argued that the preemption law would prevent future legislatures from allowing gun-friendly Wyoming to follow the lead of states like New Jersey and New York.
“This isn’t stopping a flood of gun buybacks,” Lindholm said at a committee hearing. “But at the same time, there is a state back east that was just as red as Wyoming was that today is much different than it was when they instituted gun buybacks in 2007.”
Opponents of the measure in Michigan argued that gun buybacks are an effective way to curb crime in local communities. Michigan Rep. Alex Garza also argued that the measure would unfairly exert state control over local decisions.
“To tell our local governments in many ways that we as state representatives and state senators know what’s best for their communities is simply not true,” Garza said.
SEE ALSO: Cuomo’s Legislative Answer to School Shootings: Standardized Gun Buybacks, Ban Teachers from Carrying
There is no evidence that gun buybacks reduce crime, suicides, or accidental shootings. Criminals don’t tend to participate, many of the firearms turned in are non-functioning, and those do work are not the type of firearms used in crimes.
As we reported in 2017, SUNY Buffalo State associate professor Scott W. Phillips looked at city crime data in relation to five gun buybacks held between 2007 and 2012 and found zero evidence that they reduce crime.
“Does it work? No,” Phillips told The Buffalo News. “Should they keep doing it? I wouldn’t bother wasting their time.”
Lmfao! Let’s hope and prey the idiot holding the gun that appears to be pointing at the other dumb fucks head, pulls the trigger on camera! That’ll be fun!
When are these pantiwastes gonna finally realize gun control on law abiding citizens does nothing ,NOTHING, to reduce crime. All it accomplishes is to reduce the ability of the masses to the self protection they want and need in this new age of violent crime ,an offensive language to a small few, toughen up people, take it and get stronger from it, don’t whine cause your in the Lgbqt or whatever that small sensitive group calls themselves , your an oddity , buck up and take the ridicule from the few who feel necessary to verbally acoustic you, last time I checked , words dont actually hurt , unless your so offended , then I don’t have an answer other than toughen the fuk up, me as I’m sure many of you are getting tired of the whining from the different oddity groups complaining about being treated unfairly, tough shit! It’s a hard, sometimes cruel world, deal with it if your not in the “norm”
And for you Whiney anti gunners, you live in a country built by guns , your Able to march, complain, and talk false narratives throw out false numbers of people killed by gun violence , all because the 2nd amendment gives you that freedom , when interviews at your rally’s, 95 % percent of you don’t know the first thing your protesting about. Here’s a novel idea, do some research , find the facts from the fbi and other reliable fact finding groups, study their answers and numbers , then when you actually get on a mic you might not sound like a agenda spewing retard like almost all of you do.
I’m just so sick of your shit that more gun control is the answer , well it doesn’t work , so why not try the other way proposed by the right thinking folks, more privately guns in the private sector will reduce violent gun crimes ,it’s already been proven in many places , and one other thing, for you believers in your misguided thought that actually believe gun free zones are actually safer, think about the mind of a potential shooter, fish in a barrel, now if just some of those fish were trained and armed, problem gonna most likely not even gonna start ,even dipshit wanna be killers don’t want the chance of any resistance, that’s what makes most of them weak in the first place , they want an easy killing field, guns in those areas eliminate that, and if you actually dipute this, your just not thinking as a logical human being, most of you , in my opinion,are lost in your illogical thoughts, which honestly , hows that working out for ya ??
You’re preaching to the choir here! The anti-gunners are fascists that cannot be reasoned with. They don’t care about facts, history, or common sense….CONTROL of your life is all that matters
Semantics aside, it’s just a photo op for gun grabbers. In my state it is also illegal for law enforcement to destroy any seized or surrendered firearm. They must be resold.
You can not buy back what you never owned.
Amen, brother. Besides, my firearms aren’t for “sale” to any Gov’t, local or Federal.
How in hell can any government agency “buy back” something they never owned?