Success of Gun Buyback Offers Strains Some Cities

The plan was simple: District of Columbia residents would be paid $100 for each gun they turned in during a five-day period, no questions asked.

But the program was so successful that on the third day some of those lined up to exchange their firearms this week had to be turned away because the program temporarily ran out of money.

Across the country, police and community groups running similar programs have attracted thousands of people ready to turn in guns for rewards. In some cases, the response has been so overwhelming that cash-strapped cities have cut back their efforts.

In other places, officials are making payments with gift certificates, sneakers or even sewing machines to make sure that people giving up their guns won’t turn around and buy new ones.

The right incentives have persuaded some people to get rid of weapons they no longer need or feel comfortable keeping around the house.

D.J. Scott used to hide his .44-caliber gun in the basement. But Scott said reports of youths accidentally shooting guns made him wary of keeping the weapon in a house with five children.

“If they look around long enough, they’ll find it,” said Scott, toting the gun inside a paper bag at one of Washington’s police stations Friday. The city’s program, after temporarily running short of cash, continued the collection Friday, after already taking in more than 400 guns.

“For $100 for an old gun, I’ll take it,” said Amelia Harris of Cheverly, Md., who was turning in a tarnished gun that had belonged to her grandmother.

Even the thousands of weapons turned in through such programs over the last few years barely make a dent in the number of firearms in circulation across America, estimated at 220 million to 250 million by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Those figures do not account for firearms destroyed or rendered unfit for use, souvenirs brought back from overseas battles, guns smuggled into or out of the country or guns manufactured illegally.

ATF does not keep track of how many guns are collected through the firearms swaps.

A key draw of buyback programs is the “no questions asked” policy that affords protection to those who turn in guns.

“If we start taking names, we would only get legally owned guns,” said Lt. Edward Zunino of Kennett Square, Pa., where a gun buyback program in place since May has drawn in 25 rifles and 30 handguns.

Budget constraints prevented the Salt Lake City Police Department from offering money, so they had collected only a handful of guns during a 10-day program that ended Friday.

While many cities destroy or melt down the collected weapons, New Orleans found a more ingenious use. Local sculptors assembled gun parts into a work called “Guns in the Hands of Artists.”