Now that Arizona's ban on gun-destruction is in effect, let's recap this brilliant idea by the Legislature.
Some people don't want guns -- even in Arizona, this is true. If they have guns, they can get rid of them at these "gun buybacks," and some people like the fact that these guns are destroyed, instead of just being sold to another person -- it makes some people feel better about themselves. For some reason, legislators saw a need to outlaw this.
See also:
-AR-15 Assault Rifle Among Guns Turned in at Buyback Event
The argument people had was that agencies that run buyback programs, like police departments, can turn a profit by selling the guns that would otherwise be destructed. Those people kind of missed the point that it would remove the incentive for people to fund the gun buyback programs, and remove the incentive for a lot of the people who turn in the guns and feel good about themselves.
Here's an example: 3TV went to one of these buybacks, and some guy set up across the street, trying to buy guns people were turning in. Even when the cops' gift-card supply ran dry, people still turned in the guns to the cops for destruction -- for nothing in exchange -- rather than selling them to the guy across the street.
Some people appeared to be dumbfounded by the thought that this would happen, thus leading to a law banning any agencies in the state from accepting guns from people for the purpose of destruction.
Funny, no one's calling for police to re-sell all the marijuana they seize to dispensaries and medical-marijuana patients. Or when they seize prescription drugs, they're not cashing out at Walgreen's at the end of the week.
But, for you personally, how dumb do you think Arizona's gun-destruction ban is?
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Follow Matthew Hendley on Twitter at @MatthewHendley.
