Doh! NY Gun Buyback Buys $21k in 3D Printed Sears

Gun “buybacks” are a joke. How can a government “buy back” a gun they never bought? Yeah, I know: pedantry. They’re buying the guns back from people who bought them. Well, that’s the theory. In this case, the “guns” in question were never bought. They were made on a 3D printer. syracuse.com has the story . . .

At the buyback, he turned in 60 printed auto sears, small devices that can convert firearms into fully automatic weapons. Under the rules of the buyback, hosted by Attorney General Letitia James’ office and city police, that entitled him to $350 for each of the printed parts, including a $100 premium, since they were deemed “ghost guns” lacking serial numbers.

So, in the Empire State Attorney General’s “ongoing efforts to combat gun violence and protect New Yorkers throughout the state,” the AG gave gift vouchers to the unnamed manufacturer – who traveled from West Virginia for the payday – worth $21k. Prior this embarrassing revelation, the AG’s office was busy patting itself on the back. From the Office of the Attorney General’s official presser:

Gun violence is a scourge that devastates neighborhoods and endangers New York families,” said Attorney General James. “Gun buybacks, such as the one we hosted yesterday, are one of the many ways I am working to combat this crisis, reduce crime, and protect New Yorkers from harm. Every gun that was turned in is a potential tragedy prevented and a potential life saved, and I thank the Utica Police Department for their invaluable support and collaboration.

To that end, the Utica Police Department spent at least $22,200 worth plus personnel costs to “buy back” 177 “ghost guns,” 42 long guns, 41 handguns, 33 non-working guns, and three “assault rifles”). Thank the Lord they removed 33 non-working guns, right? God knows what criminals could have done with those.

If we assume that “ghost guns” refers to home-brewed firearms – as opposed to firearms with the serial number obliterated – the program’s ghost gun subtotal is reduced to 117. Can we assume that? We cannot. As Patriot Gun Builder’s jefe is quick to point out, anti-gunners often use the term ghost guns to describe firearms with scratched-off serial numbers.

Who cares? How will removing 300 guns from the mean streets of Utica, a city with a crime rate of 4.95 violent crimes per 1000 residents with .02 murders per 1000 residents (.05 lower than the national average), reduce firearms-related crime? Just as one gun removed is “potential life saved” (nothing to do with abortion), a criminal only needs one gun to commit a crime.

Way back in 2004, nymag.com reported that New York is home to 4.5 million gun owners. I’m thinking there’s more than enough firearms available for people who wish to use them for criminal activities. And that “buying back” 300, 3000, 30k or even 300k guns wouldn’t disarm New York’s criminal class.

Anyway, AG James has changed the rules for said “buy backs.” James’ office said it’s giving buyback personnel “more discretion to determine the value of weapons being handed in, and setting a standard that all 3D-printed guns accepted by the program must be capable of being fired more than once.”

Does that mean cops are going to fire the guns before granting the donor a gift card? Hello? Trusting the local constabulary to check and dry fire a busted ass gun safely in the public square is a decidedly dicey proposition. I guess the new edict also means that gun parts are no longer eligible. Which will certainly disappoint the Virginian who caused this ruckus.

The seller, who identified himself by a pseudonym, said he traveled from West Virginia to a gun buyback Aug. 27 in Utica, New York, to take advantage of a loophole in the program — and to demonstrate that buybacks are futile in an era of printable weapons . . .

He called the idea of buybacks “ridiculously stupid,” adding that “the people running this event are horribly uneducated about guns, gun crime, and the laws surrounding the regulation of guns.”