“If we get one gun off the street, this program’s effective,” stated Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans in regard to the city’s gun buyback program. That’s how far he has had to lower the bar in order to justify the program, since it has, in fact, netted only one firearm so far this year. Yet city officials continue to tout the program in hopes it might actually “take guns off the street” rather than pay cash for worn-out antiques from some grandmother’s closet or attic.
We get it: Senseless violence and preventable accidents are terrible to experience, and we all wish we could do something to help. But programs like this are not only a massive waste of taxpayer money—they’re an excuse not to look for real solutions.
We get it: Senseless violence and preventable accidents are terrible to experience, and we all wish we could do something to help. But programs like this are not only a massive waste of taxpayer money—they’re an excuse not to look for real solutions.
