New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday that the state will be issuing $13 million in grants “to combat gun violence” under the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative. While it’s likely that a significant amount of this funding will go toward actually getting firearms away from those who legally can’t own them, it’s unclear how smart the methods will be: Some recipient cities like Buffalo are fans of gun buybacks, despite their lack of effectiveness.
This also looks like an area where legitimate crime prevention will shade effortlessly into gun control, as other funding recipients have been criticized for confiscating firearms—even from former first responders—on extremely dubious grounds. The entire tone of the initiative seems tailored to supporting overzealous tactics. Perhaps Gov. Cuomo is jealous of another New York politicians’ anti-gun credentials and limitless coffers.
