The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) has announced it will melt 3,400 guns next Monday. An LASD press release announcing the 22nd Annual Gun Melt claimed the firearms “… will never be used again to commit a crime, or to threaten, intimidate or harm an innocent victim.”
But were any of these guns actually used in a crime? It’s unclear how many of the guns were collected from criminals versus through “gun buyback” efforts, but what is clear is that criminologists have proven such programs to be horribly ineffective. The vast majority of guns collected are old hunting rifles and rusty revolvers, and the LASD doesn’t even bother to trace them for possible criminal involvement.
That still doesn’t stop the LASD from making its spurious claim. The truth is that on July 6, the Los Angeles sheriff will be staging a political event—not fighting crime.
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