Gun Buyback Programs – Destroying Links to Our History

Gun Buyback Programs – Destroying Links to Our History
By Shari Spivack

Revolutionary War Era Prussian Flintlock Musket
Revolutionary War Era Prussian Flintlock Musket Uncovered at a Texas Gun Buy Back Program
New Jersey Second Amendment Society
New Jersey Second Amendment Society

New Jersey –-(Ammoland.com)- A Gun Buyback program took place last week in Plainfield, NJ. Hosted by seven churches in the area, people were encouraged to turn their guns in, no questions asked, for up to $200 in cash.

All weapons were turned over to police officers by the churches and subsequently destroyed.

Gun buyback programs are nothing new. There are those who feel that based on the type and condition of the weapons recovered they are simply a waste of time and more of a public relations event.

And there are those people who feel that taking any gun off the “streets” (or out of someone’s attic) helps make our communities safer. Many guns collected in buyback programs are not in working order or the type used in crimes today. If you live in New Jersey and are familiar with the strict gun control laws in the state, then you also might have additional concerns regarding the ability of churches to legally “buy” guns from anonymous sellers. (For more information on the debate regarding the possible legality of the issue in New Jersey, visit Attorney Evan Nappan’s article in the link above.)

Based on the history of gun buyback programs, I am not convinced that they do anything to remove guns from the streets in a way that actually prevents crime. However, in discussing the buyback program with a few people, something was brought up that I hadn’t given much thought to before. As many of the firearms “sold” in gun buyback programs are described as not working and not the typical weapons used in crimes today, that means that some may be antiques that have been stored in the attic of someone who doesn’t want them or know how to dispose of them.

This could lead to the potential destruction of guns that are part of our country’s history which would be melted down and lost.

Many of these guns were likely found in someone’s attic after an elderly relative died and the heirs were cleaning out the house. They may have belonged to someone who had fought in the military overseas and retained a “war trophy” as was common once upon a time. Or they may have been used by a grandfather who was a small town sheriff before they were born, or who had rifles that he used in competitions or hunting. Some of those guns could be well over 100 years old. I know of one family that found their father’s old rifle hidden under the floor boards beneath the staircase. They recalled that he always said he had an “insurance policy” just in case he ever saw a repeat of what happened in Nazi Germany.

Perhaps people do not realize the potential historical and familial value firearms can be as a link to the past. All artifacts tell stories and firearms are no different. Uncovering an artifact, for example, paintings and furniture from another time period, tells a story of what life was like for our ancestors and records the history of the growth of our nation.

After visiting the National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia I can attest to the fact that merely seeing the collections of historical firearms displayed brings a rich understanding and vivid picture of the history and culture of our nation at different time periods. Not only can firearms be works of art themselves, with fine detailing and craftsmanship, but firearms of different time periods can speak volumes about the industry, politics and entertainment of an era. Whether it’s a collection of 1911s used in the trenches during World War I or revolvers of the American West, they all reveal something about the people who carried them, used them and depended on them for sustenance, recreation and defense. And while every gun found is not going to be that gem, it is a shame to lose anything that might reveal a record of the evolution and technology in the firearms industry which is undeniably of historical significance – particularly for the cost of a fast food meal.

I do not have a history of firearms ownership in my family, at least not to my knowledge. However, we do have documents, newspaper articles, military medals and a sword brought back from Japan by my grandfather when he fought in World War II. Each of these items tells a little story of what life was like for my grandparents, and their neighbors and other relatives who lived in that time period.

If you look at all the museums and monuments that record and catalogue the history of the human race it shows that we can’t successfully move forward without connections to what preceded us.

Shari Spivack is an officer and board member of the most active Second Amendment Rights group in NJ – The New Jersey Second Amendment Society. She is a wife, a mother, a firearms instructor and a regular contributor on firearms related and 2A rights issues.

About:
New Jersey Second Amendment Society – Our mission is to promote the free exercise of Second Amendment rights within the community and Legislature of New Jersey, to educate the community regarding the enjoyable, safe, and responsible use of firearms, and to engender a sense of camaraderie and fellowship among the members and their families. Visit: www.nj2as.com

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Tsgt B

In areas where it is legal to do so, take a bag of cash, go to the "buyback" site, and make offers to people who have been hoodwinked into thinking these atrocities are a good thing. I've bought several NICE firearms for more than what the "buybackers" offered, got great deals, and made some good friends to boot. It is also an excellent venue to educate, inform, and promote the Second Amendment amongst the general public. Be certain to dress appropriately, present yourself well, and most of all, BE PREPARED TO FACE DOWN THE PUBLICLY-PAID GOONS WHO WILL TRY TO… Read more »

Oakenheart

How can it be a "Buy Back" if the church or cops never owned it in the first place?

Bill

Gun buy backs has been a hot topic for me. Every year we hear about some little old lady needing money so she takes her dead husbands guns, many times worth thousands of dollars, down to the gun buy back and sells them for a few dollars. People we need gun groups standing out in front of the gun buy backs and at least inform the people to the real value of their firearms. We can not allow the anti-gun traitors to steal our birth right! {If the NRA wants to again gain my favor I want them to post… Read more »

Bob

I know this has been published and said a hundred times; the churches did not buy back the guns, they just lent their facilities to the police to handled and bought back the guns. If people choose to sell their guns in this program, who will deny them their American right to do so? There is no force applied here, and while it probably doesn't get many guns off the streets, it is a volunteer program.

James A. Farmer

Consider these vile, damnable, and deceitful anti-gun turn ins for what they are: class warfare predicated upon political deceit! Thats right! Furthermore churches who prostitute themselves to this anti- gun victim disarmament are apostate and deserve to be shunned! Also, merchants who prostitute themselves to this via cash cards or whatever deserve to be boycotted and run out of business! This is civilian disarmament intended to promote an anti-gun socialist agenda reminsicent of a 1918 Bolshevik propaganda poster in Communist Russia ordering peasants to surrender their guns, knives, and personal weapons to a bunch of murderous criminal thugs, the Cheka!… Read more »

mugwumps01

Surely gun dealers can outbid on these guns. When these buybacks occur, somebody should be there to make better offers.

Mark

Does anybody REALLY believe this cop-pig Propaganda bullshit?