Down in Tucson, some folks will soon be getting free shotguns.
A group called the Armed Citizen Project, funded by donations, plans to give away shotguns to people in certain areas of Tucson -- "for free!" -- in what's being touted as a crime-fighting measure.
See also:
-Tucson Group Giving Out Free Shotguns to City Residents
"The Armed Citizen Project is dedicated to facilitating the arming of law-abiding citizens and analyzing the relationship between increased firearm availability and rates," the group's website says. "We are choosing mid- [to] high-crime neighborhoods in cities across America and offering defensive weapons to citizens that can pass a background check, and that will take our safety, legal, and tactical training. The data that we collect will be used in the completion of a policy study that will measure the deterrent effects of firearms on crime."
This program already started in some Houston neighborhoods, and residents of three Tucson neighborhoods will get the chance at a free shotgun.
The program is funded by donations, and the Tucson Weekly heard down there that there's already $12,000 pledged toward the Tucson edition.
One, concern, as raised by a couple of our readers, is that people would take the free shotgun, then turn around and sell it, to get a few bucks.
The response from the organization isn't exactly reassuring.
"Even if, heaven-forbid, one of our weapons is misused in a manner causing injury or death, one would have to accept the premise that guns, not people, cause crime, in order to find us liable," the website says.
So, in general, does this sound to you like a good plan?
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