Snapshots From America's Gun Buy Back Programs

Maurice Garland

4 months ago

Take a look at just what kind of heat Americans are packing on the regular.

Gun buy back programs have been going on since the mid-90s when inner city youths were getting shot in gang wars or over Starter jackets and Air Jordans. But in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, Conn., and the "Dark Knight Rises" shooting in Aurora, Colorado before it, the event has made a resurgance in recent weeks.

As the country debates over gun control and whether or not citizens should be allowed to carry assault weapons, the fact remains that a lot of Americans have them, legally and illegally. While gun buy back programs are getting thousands of dangerous weapons off the streets, they also give you a glimpse as to just what kind of heat the average American is packing how much of it.

Take a look at some of the collections that have been made around America over the last couple of weeks.

[Also Read: New Jersey Town Tests Armed Police in Schools]

Los Angeles, California

A recent gun buy back program in Los Angeles netted 2,037 weapons including 75 assault rifles and two grenade launchers. GRENADE LAUNCHERS! Police are investigating to see if the weapons were stolen from the military.

Camden, New Jersey

The "deadliest city in America" got a little safer after a recent gun buy back event. Local police collected 1,137 weapons, trumping the previous record of 700 set in 2009. One person turned in an elephant gun. If you need a description, that's a gun powerful enough to kill an elephant.

New Albany, Indiana

New Albany is a town that rest just outside of Louisville, Kentucky. Its population is only 36,372, but when it set aside $50,000 for a gun buy back program, they ran out of money within the first two hours.

San Diego, California

Even sunny San Diego has some heat. A December 28 San Diego County Sheriff’s Department gun buyback program collected 360 more weapons than it did last year. The bunch included two Uzi-style handguns, a TEC-9, rifles, shotguns and many antique weapons.

Bridgeport, Connecticut

Thirty minutes away from Newtown, Bridgeport has been dealing with gun violence for decade. Their most recent gun buy back effort is one where they plan to have a gun buy back event every weekend until the $130,000 that's been donated has been spent. The effort started on December 30 and gave out $20,000 for 200 guns within the first two days. AR-15s were a popular donation.

San Francisco, California

A December 20 gun buy back event in San Francisco went so well that not only did the police department run out of money, but they had to issue 150 IOUs.

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