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Akron and Summit county gun buy back program

dng

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Summit program to buy back guns planned
Church leader helps set up Goods for Guns to reduce area violence

By Carl Chancellor Beacon Journal staff writer

Published on Wednesday, Oct 31, 2007

It has been nearly a decade and a half since the last gun-buyback program, but with gun violence seemingly on the rise in Akron and Summit County, something needed to be done.

That was the impetus behind Goods For Guns, said the Rev. Marc Neal during a Tuesday news conference to announce the gun-reduction initiative.

''In 2006, there were 675 firearms used in crimes and 1,294 (emergency) 911 calls for 'shots fired,''' Neal said, quoting Akron Police Department statistics.

''As community leaders we must promote safety. The possession of guns increases the risk of tragedy,'' Neal said.

Not if responsible law abiding people have them!

Believing something needed to be done to get illegal guns off the streets, Neal approached the Akron Police Department and the Summit County's Sheriff's and Prosecutor's offices, with the gun buyback idea.

On Dec. 7 and 8, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days, Summit County residents can turn in guns, legal or illegal, for vouchers that can be exchanged for a wide assortment of goods from tennis shoes to gift cards for groceries at two church locations. The vouchers will be valued at a minimum of $100.

What if people actually bring in nice guns. Aren't they being ripped off? But I guess people have to take responsibility for their own actions, so, if they don't know what the gun is worth, it's their own faultif they getscrewed over.

Akron Police Chief Michael Matulavich, one of several law enforcement officials at the news conference, noted that more young people are being arrested with guns.

''As violence from guns escalates, the ages of the offenders is decreasing,'' Matulavich said. He noted that many of the young offenders are associated with street gangs.

According to Matulavich, the last gun-buyback program, which was done in conjunction with Akron's Catholic Commission in 1994, took in more than 500 guns.

''I'm optimistic and hoping for the best,'' Matulavich answered when asked how many guns he expected to be exchanged this time around.

''But if we just get one gun,'' the chief said, ''that is one less gun on the street.''

Goods for Guns will be a ''no questions'' asked program. People person bringing in guns won't be asked to identify themselves.

''This program will allow people to turn firearms they have in their possession over to law enforcement with no questions asked,'' said Neal, who pastors Jerusalem Baptist Church.

Once the guns are collected by an on-site police officer, the weapons will be sent to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation for processing. Guns that aren't connected to a crime will be properly destroyed.

One of the buyback program's organizers, Chris Dennis with Ryden Enterprise, said similar programs in other cities have taken hundreds of guns off the streets. His company is providing financing to help in the purchase of goods.

Steve Finical, an assistant Summit County sheriff, said that additional corporate sponsors and individuals still are being sought. Donations can be made through the county's nonprofit Crimestoppers program, which allows a tax deduction for donations.

''No one is exempt from gun violence,'' said Finical, pointing out that guns in the wrong hands put everyone at risk. I bolded that last part. He is exactly right! Don't blame the guns, hold the criminals responsible.

Guns will be collected at both east and west side Akron locations of Jerusalem Baptist 270 E. Wilbeth Road and 1225 Vernon Odom Blvd.

For more information, contact the sheriff's office at 330-643-2112.

http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/10908996.html?page=1&c=y
 

wackjob

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I'd bet someone could make some $ standing outside and buying decent firearms for a buck fifty and turn around and sell it for two or three hundred. The question is whether most of the people turning in guns are willing to give it to some guy standing outside, even for a little extra cash.
 

openryan

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If they are worth a minimum of 100 bucks, you could almost make money by going out and buying up a bunch of cheap guns.

I would like someone to try and turn in a pellet gun in a state where it is legally defined as a firearm... and then have their pellet gun denied in the buy back, just to let people see how stupid that law it.
 

Jersey Ron

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wackjob wrote:
I'd bet someone could make some $ standing outside and buying decent firearms for a buck fifty and turn around and sell it for two or three hundred. The question is whether most of the people turning in guns are willing to give it to some guy standing outside, even for a little extra cash.

Dang! There goes my idea!! I was going to take the proceeds of the gun sales and by my girls that dang Nintendo Wii!





Jersey
 

dng

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Akron authorities exchanging gift cards for firearms

Associated Press - December 8, 2007 7:55 AM ET

AKRON, Ohio (AP) - Akron police hope the second and final day of their firearm buyback collection will continue to exceed goals.

Yesterday 850 weapons were turned in at the Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church in West Akron and exchanged for $100 gift cards for groceries. Police say they were originally hoping the buyback would yield 500 firearms.

Rev. Marc Neal, who helped organize the gun collection, says most of the weapons returned were rifles and sawed-off shotguns.

Police are checking to make sure the guns are unloaded and will return any weapons reported stolen to their owners. People bringing in guns are not asked to identify themselves.

Authorities will continue the buyback from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today.

Information from: Akron Beacon Journal, http://www.ohio.com


Hopefully this took some guns out of criminals hands, rather than ripping people off by buying good guns back at below market value. I still am wondering why, if handguns are such a huge problem, that most the guns were NOT handguns.

 

dng

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Loaded Rifle Left In Church Office For Gun Buy-Back Program
$100 Gift Vouchers Given For Guns

POSTED: 2:29 pm EST December 4, 2007
UPDATED: 2:40 pm EST December 4, 2007

AKRON, Ohio -- [/b]Summit County police and area ministers want your guns. I don't like the sound of that! :shock:

The Jerusalem Baptist churches in Akron will start its Goods for Guns program on Friday and Saturday.

Unofficially, the buy-back program began on Monday when someone left two rifles in a church office.

One of the rifles was even loaded. :shock:Not good!

"That could've been an accident in someone's home with someone's family because it was just there for several years for what I understood, and if a grandchild visits her family member, niece or nephew had to come to the home, then we would not be reporting that the gun was turned in but was used in an actual shooting," said Pastor Marc Neal. People really should be educated about guns.

People who turn in their guns will receive a $100 gift voucher.
 

dng

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Gun 'buyback' won't work
Published on Friday, Nov 16, 2007


In response to the Oct. 31 story about the upcoming gun buyback slated for Dec. 7 and 8 in Akron (''Summit program to buy back guns planned''), I have some observations.

First, there is no such thing as a gun ''buyback.'' The word implies that the police had owned the guns at some time, which is not the case, so they aren't buying them back.

Semantics aside, I am alarmed that the Akron Police Department and the Rev. Marc Neal are encouraging people to anonymously turn in illegal as well as legal guns for vouchers. This sends the wrong message.

What they are saying, in effect, is: ''It's OK to steal, so long as it's guns. In fact, we'll fence them for you. We'll give you $100 or more, no questions asked.''

The police should be at the forefront of the effort to trace illegal guns back to their source. Instead, by not requiring identification, they are now part of the problem.

This is merely a feel-good measure that will have zero effect on street crime. No gang member is going to turn in a modern, working firearm for a $100 shoe voucher. It simply isn't going to happen.

Historically, almost all buyback programs have resulted in people turning in broken and inoperative guns, basically worthless junk, for good money. That's why the buybacks disappeared. They didn't work.

I worked in a gun store for three years until retiring recently, and I agree there are a lot of guns in the wrong hands. One of the big problems is that, in Ohio, it takes a felony, domestic violence or drug conviction to disqualify you from purchasing guns legally. If you're the type of person who has 257 misdemeanors on your record and spends every weekend in jail, guess what? You often sail right through the Brady background check.

Even worse, under federal law, aliens who have been in this country for as little as 90 days can buy firearms legally in a gun store. That's right. For the most part, we have no way of checking on what crimes they may have committed in the their home country. So they get their weapon. How much sense does that make?

In any event, paying people to anonymously turn in stolen and junk guns isn't the answer.
Ralph T. Kane
Salem

http://www.ohio.com/editorial/vop/11421451.html

I was liking this guy until it seems he jumped on the gun control bandwagon.
 

openryan

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dngreer wrote:
Akron authorities exchanging gift cards for firearms

Associated Press - December 8, 2007 7:55 AM ET

AKRON, Ohio (AP) - Akron police hope the second and final day of their firearm buyback collection will continue to exceed goals.

Yesterday 850 weapons were turned in at the Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church in West Akron and exchanged for $100 gift cards for groceries. Police say they were originally hoping the buyback would yield 500 firearms.

Rev. Marc Neal, who helped organize the gun collection, says most of the weapons returned were rifles and sawed-off shotguns.

Police are checking to make sure the guns are unloaded and will return any weapons reported stolen to their owners. People bringing in guns are not asked to identify themselves.

Authorities will continue the buyback from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today.

Information from: Akron Beacon Journal, http://www.ohio.com


Hopefully this took some guns out of criminals hands, rather than ripping people off by buying good guns back at below market value. I still am wondering why, if handguns are such a huge problem, that most the guns were NOT handguns.

So if I reported a firearm stolen, and it happened to be a shotgun... and now it is a sawed-off, I will get it back?
 

Splat!!

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I hope one of them gun buy backs happen close to me................I got a Jennings 22 pistol that I would take a 100 dollars for:lol:............Then maybe they will contact me and give it back, so I can do it again:celebrate
 

Legba

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AFAIK, cutting down a shotgun is not itself illegal as long as the barrel is still at least 18" long (there may be individual state laws contrary to this).

As for "buyback" programs generally, it just astounds me that someone could dispose of a murder weapon, say, and get paid for it, no questions asked. Marring up the barrel, firing pin, extractor stuff, etc.would frustrate linking a gun to a crime at all, of course, but even if they linked one via forensic ballistics to some crime,they have no way to link the gun to the perp with these anonymous purchases. Maybe they do photo stake-outs at these things as a precaution, but I've not heard of anyone getting "busted" thus.

-ljp
 

Heartless_Conservative

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Probably 'cause the people using guns to commit crimes have a vested interest in not allowing themselves to be disarmed. Course, consdiering the kind of 'logic' it takes to run one of these buyback schemes it could just be gross incompetence.
 

Legba

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Right, there are other considerations beyond barrel length. Flash suppressors can count toward the length of a rifle barrel if they are permanently affixed (welded on), for example. I still can't figure out the importation point system for handguns though - e.g. Glock .380s don't have enough points to qualify for importation. If they had one or more American made parts, or target style grips, say, they might qualify. Kind of arbitary, IMO.

-ljp
 

dng

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http://www.akron.com/20071220/usl1.ASP

County puts more money toward gun program

By Kathleen Folkerth
DOWNTOWN AKRON — A recent effort to collect guns from Summit County households was so successful that Summit County Council adopted legislation Dec. 17 that puts another $10,000 toward the program.
Council had already put $5,000 toward the “Goods for Guns” gun buy-back program, which took place Dec. 7-8 and resulted in the collection of 956 guns. That money came from the county’s public safety funds.
The legislation adopted this week allows $5,000 from Summit County Executive Russ Pry’s General Fund and $5,000 from County Council’s General Fund to be used by Summit County Crimestoppers Inc. to cover costs associated with the program.

Those who turned in guns received a $100 gift card for either Acme Fresh Market or Dick’s Sporting Goods. On the second day of the collection, the supply of gift cards was exhausted, but some citizens still used the opportunity to turn in guns, according to Tari Cooley, of the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
“A lot of people told us they just wanted these guns out of the house,” Cooley said.
Jason Dodson, an attorney in the executive’s office, said organizers of the buy-back looked at similar programs elsewhere and estimated that 500 firearms would be turned in.
“We had hundreds of more guns turned in than expected,” Dodson said.
He added that the newly approved funds from the county would go toward paying for the gift cards.
Cooley said the Sheriff’s Office is interested in repeating the program in the future.
(the article continues, but it is OT)
I say, if they are going to insist on this stupid program, that I want to get in on the deal. I am going to keep my eyes open for crappy guns. I'll buy them for $25-50, and then make some money by turning them in for $100 gift cards to Dick's Sporting Goods. Heck, I could get a couple of good "assault" rifles with my profits.
 

wackjob

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Let me know if anyone hears of one near Worthington. I would love to buy a few guns from people on their way in. Never know what someone will show up with.
 

TrueBrit

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color of law wrote:
The police chief said it's young and very young commiting the crime. So how many young are going to sell their gun back?

Indeed! Color, are we to assume , then, that it is as I suspected,and this program has been prompted because, yet again , feral juveniles are shooting other feral juveniles?

Sounds heartless, and violent death of any kind is deplorable,but maybe let 'em just blaze away?These guys are not going to part with their guns,which renders the whole program pointless, I believe!

TrueBrit.
 
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