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The State.com
Columbia’s first no-questions-asked gun amnesty program is part of city’s effort to curb violent crime, councilwoman says
By JEFF STENSLAND
Staff Writer
Nearly 300 guns were taken off Columbia’s streets Saturday as part of Gun Amnesty Day, the first the city has hosted in a decade.
People lined up in the parking lot of Capital City Stadium to turn in weapons — no questions asked — in exchange for cash.
Columbia Police Chief Dean Crisp said many gun owners are starting to re-evaluate whether their weapons are more trouble than they’re worth.
“We’re for responsible ownership of guns, but what we’re seeing here is people making an individual choice that they just don’t need them in their home anymore,†Crisp said.
The event began at 10 a.m. By noon, a Columbia Police Department RV was packed with a hodgepodge of rifles, shotguns and pistols.
They ranged from rusty .22-caliber pocket pistols to a never-fired SKS hunting rifle, still packed in its original box. Others included a World War I rifle and a Tec-9, a machine gunlike semiautomatic pistol favored by criminals.
Officials were encouraged by the response to the buyback, which eventually cost more than $10,000. At one point, police ran out of cash and had to go get more.
City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine said the effort is part of an overall strategy to curb violent crime.
“Too many young people have access to guns, and we’re getting to a point where if you don’t like someone, you go get a gun and try to harm them,†she said.
The collected guns will be checked against a registry of stolen weapons and ultimately destroyed.
Laurel Irving, a Columbia man who sold two pistols Saturday, said owning the guns no longer made sense. “It’s no match for what they’ve got on the street, anyway, and the only thing it would do is get people angry,†he said.
But while Irving hoped the buyback could reduce crime, he was skeptical. “The only people who’ll turn them in is the honest people. The hoodlums will keep theirs.â€
Reach Stensland at (803) 771-8358 or [email protected]
I like the last quote.... wish I had gone to make an offer ot two on some of those guns.... Jack
Columbia’s first no-questions-asked gun amnesty program is part of city’s effort to curb violent crime, councilwoman says
By JEFF STENSLAND
Staff Writer
Nearly 300 guns were taken off Columbia’s streets Saturday as part of Gun Amnesty Day, the first the city has hosted in a decade.
People lined up in the parking lot of Capital City Stadium to turn in weapons — no questions asked — in exchange for cash.
Columbia Police Chief Dean Crisp said many gun owners are starting to re-evaluate whether their weapons are more trouble than they’re worth.
“We’re for responsible ownership of guns, but what we’re seeing here is people making an individual choice that they just don’t need them in their home anymore,†Crisp said.
The event began at 10 a.m. By noon, a Columbia Police Department RV was packed with a hodgepodge of rifles, shotguns and pistols.
They ranged from rusty .22-caliber pocket pistols to a never-fired SKS hunting rifle, still packed in its original box. Others included a World War I rifle and a Tec-9, a machine gunlike semiautomatic pistol favored by criminals.
Officials were encouraged by the response to the buyback, which eventually cost more than $10,000. At one point, police ran out of cash and had to go get more.
City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine said the effort is part of an overall strategy to curb violent crime.
“Too many young people have access to guns, and we’re getting to a point where if you don’t like someone, you go get a gun and try to harm them,†she said.
The collected guns will be checked against a registry of stolen weapons and ultimately destroyed.
Laurel Irving, a Columbia man who sold two pistols Saturday, said owning the guns no longer made sense. “It’s no match for what they’ve got on the street, anyway, and the only thing it would do is get people angry,†he said.
But while Irving hoped the buyback could reduce crime, he was skeptical. “The only people who’ll turn them in is the honest people. The hoodlums will keep theirs.â€
Reach Stensland at (803) 771-8358 or [email protected]
I like the last quote.... wish I had gone to make an offer ot two on some of those guns.... Jack
