Barack Obama told his people to “hit back twice as hard”.
Gun owners have taken that advice to heart.
In Seattle, the city held its first gun “buy back” in twenty years this weekend. The city fathers got people coming out to trade their unwanted guns for $80,000 worth of city money on $100 gift cards.
People waiting in line were offered cash for firearms worth more than $100. Many folks took advantage of that, receiving a fairer price than a low-ball $100 offer from the city for decent guns. The non-functioning junk? That went to the city.
It was quite a circus as dozens, if not hundreds of gun buyers willing and able to offer people cash money and a fairer price for guns worth more than $100, leaving the city to trade their gift cards for the broken-down, rusted junk that hasn’t worked for decades.
Guns collected by the Seattle Police Department aren’t exactly the collection of AR-15s, AK-47s, SKSs, Uzis and other “evil black rifles” the city put on display for the media ahead of the event. Photo by Reuters via Trust.org.
The police in charge of the event weren’t pleased, but they recognized there wasn’t anything they could do about it.
Seattle Gun BuyBack Get’s JACKED!
Turns Into a Damn Gun Show! LOL
Police officers in Seattle, Washington held their first gun buyback program in 20 years this weekend, underneath interstate 5, and soon found that private gun collectors were working the large crowd as little makeshift gun shows began dotting the parking lot and sidewalks. Some even had “cash for guns” signs prominently displayed.
Police stood in awe as gun enthusiasts and collectors waved wads of cash for the guns being held by those standing in line for the buyback program.
People that had arrived to trade in their weapons for $100 or $200 BuyBack gift cards($100 for handguns, shotguns and rifles, and $200 for assault weapons) soon realized that gun collectors were there and paying top dollar for collectible firearms. So, as the line for the chump cards got longer and longer people began to jump ship and head over to the dealers.
John Diaz, Seattles Police Chief, wasn’t pleased with the turn of events stating “I’d prefer they wouldn’t sell them,” but admitted it’s perfectly legal for private individuals to buy and sell guns, FOR NOW. Mayor Mike McGinn said at a news conference the private transactions are a loophole that needs to be closed. “There’s no background checks, and some (guns) could be exchanged on the streets that shouldn’t be in circulation.”
The cops did manage to collect 800 guns and exhaust their supply of gift cards in two hours, and when they tried to offer the crowd IOUs for more guns, the crowd made for the civilian gun buyers and left the cops feeling like the Maytag repairman.
… by 11:00 am they began attempting to issue IOU’s at which point the entire crowd responded by turning and marching toward the gun dealers, forcing the police officers to pack it up for the day.
Yes, we really meant it when we said it was a circus-like atmosphere.
What a shame the city wasn’t able to bilk its well-meaning residents out of their valuable property for pennies on the dollar. And kudos for the owners of broken down junk to sell it to the city at a fool’s premium.
And while not as exciting as the gun buyback turned gun show, in Burlington, Vermont, a private shooting range terminated its lease agreement to allow that city’s police officers to practice, train and qualify at their facility after the city moved forward with a measure to ban guns for that city’s residents.
Gun owners crowd a Jan. 7, 2013, Burlington, Vt., City Council meeting at City Hall. Those opposed to the creation of an assault-weapons ban in the city dominated the public comment portion of the meeting, saying that a ban would do nothing to protect the public. Photo and caption by Burlington, Vt. Free Press.
Gun range prohibits police after city considers ban
BURLINGTON, Vt. (USA Today) — A rural Vermont firing range has told the police department in Burlington that its officers are unwelcome to train at the facility because the City Council has advanced a measure to ban semi-automatic rifles and large-capacity magazines in the state’s largest city.
The City Council’s action earlier this month threatens constitutional freedoms, Robert Boivin II, board chairman of the Lamoille Valley Fish and Game Club Inc., wrote in a letter to police department, city and state leaders terminating use of the gun range by Burlington police.
The firing range is in Morrisville, about 50 miles northeast of Burlington. The city of 42,000 residents has a police force of just less than 100 officers.
The club’s executive board “can no longer support the City of Burlington with such a prejudice against our club and its members, and has voted to suspend the City’s use of our range for its law enforcement. This action is effective immediately,” Boivin wrote in the letter, dated Tuesday. It was provided Wednesday to The Burlington Free Press.
“We hope that the council reconsiders its actions and redirects its efforts towards perpetrators of violent crimes and security issues,” Boivin wrote.
The city’s exclusion from the range likely would affect how and when officers train with firearms, Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling told the Free Press on Wednesday night.
“Training facilities are limited in the area,” Schirling said. “It’s unfortunate that a polarized discussion of this nature has this kind of impact.”
Well, Chief, if your city fathers wish to limit people’s civil rights, don’t be surprised if there’s not some reaction to that!
2 thoughts on “PUSH BACK: “Buyback” hijacked into gun show; range closed to anti-gun city’s cops”
Reminds me of when the great Ronnie Barrett told CA government agencies to take a hike when they banned civilian ownership of his rifles.
We could end this debate with an exclamation point if we could get the big-name AR manufacturers to play hardball like that. Hey Colt, Bushmaster, DPMS, Sig, etc. … how about coming together to follow Barrett’s lead: “If you ban civilian ownership of our products, then state (and Federal if needed) agencies can pound sand.”
I’ve never understood what the “Gunshow loophole” is. Unless it’s one put on by the city under an overpass like the one above, all the gun shows I’ve been to require a background check to get a badge. Without that badge, you aren’t allowed to touch a firearm at the show.
I went to another show out of state, and the only way to obtain a gun from that show was to arrange to have a firearm sent to a FFL dealer in my state and do the paperwork there.
Reminds me of when the great Ronnie Barrett told CA government agencies to take a hike when they banned civilian ownership of his rifles.
We could end this debate with an exclamation point if we could get the big-name AR manufacturers to play hardball like that. Hey Colt, Bushmaster, DPMS, Sig, etc. … how about coming together to follow Barrett’s lead: “If you ban civilian ownership of our products, then state (and Federal if needed) agencies can pound sand.”
I’ve never understood what the “Gunshow loophole” is. Unless it’s one put on by the city under an overpass like the one above, all the gun shows I’ve been to require a background check to get a badge. Without that badge, you aren’t allowed to touch a firearm at the show.
I went to another show out of state, and the only way to obtain a gun from that show was to arrange to have a firearm sent to a FFL dealer in my state and do the paperwork there.