Connolly Urges $200 Million Gun Buyback Program
Forty House members sign letter backing proposed program added to any end-of-the-year fiscal cliff deal.
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A letter co-written by Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-11th), and signed by 40 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, urges Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to support an immediate $200 million gun buyback program in any end-of-the-year fiscal cliff deal.
Connolly, whose district includes the national headquarters for the NRA, and U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida authored the letter to the House leaders.
“Gun buybacks have proven successful in communities across the nation,” Connolly and Deutch said in a “Dear Colleague” to House members. “Adding $200 million to the final compromise on the fiscal cliff could remove as many as one million guns from our streets.”
Including the gun buyback program as a way to reduce gun violence, the congressmen said including it in any year-end deal “is a simple, immediate step we can take to assure the public we are committed to taking meaningful action.”
Connolly and Deutch said federal financial support to help local communities and states conduct buyback programs could also bolster local economic activity. “Distributing funding to the states to run buyback programs using prepaid debit cards with a three-month expiration date could provide a jolt to local economies that have stagnated in the wake of the recession and concerns over the fiscal cliff.”
“The murder of 20 youngsters and six educators in their classrooms has galvanized the public’s desire for immediate action, and partnering with the states on a nationwide gun buyback program is a modest, common-sense start,” the two congressmen said.
It's not certain if there is enough support on Capitol Hill for any new gun laws. Although President Obama called for Congress to show “courage” to consider new gun-control laws, he faces challenges with "members of his own party who have a history of cowering from the gun debate," the National Journal points out.
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Jonathan Erickson
9:30 am on Tuesday, December 25, 2012
I am sure the gansters are looking up the local address where they can turn their old guns in, get money and buy new guns with greater capacity. Maybe they are looking up registered gun owners so they know who to burglarize so they can sell the guns in the buy back program. A fool and taxpayer money this program is.
Dan Seidel
10:03 am on Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Well, LoHud- Journal News, Westchester, NY published an interactive map showing legal gun permit holders, their addresses and names. Then the permit holders got info from InstaPundit (h/t!) - the blogger, who apparently looked up public data and published the names, addresses, phone numbers and emails of the Editor, Reporter, and everyone else connected to the dissemination of the confidential data *(apparently in violation of NYS PL400.00(1)(5)). Here is article, comments, and editor's personal info gleaned from the net - apparently the editor has no gun permit registered to her house, and her neighborhood is patently scarce on permits making it and her a prime target for crime:
http://www.lohud.com/interactive/article/20121223/NEWS01/121221011/Map-Where-gun-permits-your-neighborhood-
America is going to the dogs - Constitution Down!
Jonathan Erickson
10:23 am on Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Nice job by the permit holders. Nail the skanky publication!
Dave Webster
10:30 am on Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Gun buyback programs have most certainly not been "proven successful in communities across the nation," if by "proven successful," Mr. Connolly means a reduction in gun-related crime. With regard to a jolt to the economy, will taking money from Citizen A under Congress' taxing power to give it to Citizen B in order to destroy some property held by Citizen B actually be an overall benefit to the economy? It doesn't seem likely. Connolly claims this program will alleviate some concerns over the fiscal cliff. He doesn't explain how throwing a wrench into the fiscal cliff negotiations at the last minute will alleviate concerns of Americans over the uncertainties regarding whether a deal can be reached.
Jonathan Erickson
10:33 am on Tuesday, December 25, 2012
I think Mr Webster just grabbed someone by the nose and kicked them in the a$$. Yahoo!
James
12:09 pm on Tuesday, December 25, 2012
One could sell a rusty old hand me down shotgun and put that $ towards a new 1911.
Steven Holmes
9:12 pm on Tuesday, December 25, 2012
If you volutarily give up your weapon(s) to the gun grabbers then you mf'ers will be counted AMONGST THE ENEMY when the SHTF in this country.
Virginia O'Hanlon
10:56 pm on Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Dear Editor, I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no trusting the news anymore. Papa says, "If you see it on Patch, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there truth in what you write?
Don Joy
8:26 am on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Connolly ought to be fiscal cliff-diving in Hawaii with his buddy Soetoro.
What Dave Webster said is accurate. Notice that crime is worst in areas where they've taken every possibly tactic to get guns out of the hands of law-abaiding citizens.
joe brewer
9:30 am on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Quit sending money overseas to countries that are not our allies and use 3,350,000,000 dollars for weapons, safes and training for educators and school staffs at our 67,000 elementary schools. For the 53 elementary schools here in Loudoun it would only cost 2.65 million dollars. Instead of this so-called feel good band-aid by Pelosi and Connolly up the ante and take the money from the foreign aid budget
W.E.G.
12:12 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Their theory is that only a small fraction would actually surrender the weapons.
Plenty of budget for that.
The rest would be deemed criminals, and carefully targeted for criminal prosecution, and property forfeiture.
Seize a few half-million-dollar houses (think 50-year-old brick ramblers in Fairfax County), collect a few hundred-thousand-dollar fines, and you're cooking with heavy grease.