Once Again, Resorting to Doing Something That Does Nothing to Stop Gun Violence

Convincing those who try to blame tragedy on law-abiding gun owners that their “solutions” simply don’t work is a daunting, and usually unrewarding, task. The latest example of this sad fact comes out of Coral Springs, Florida. An organization called 4FNow—the 4F standing for “Fewer Firearms, Fewer Funerals”—promoted a gun turn-in program that took place yesterday, September 15, as part of its response to the horrific crimes committed earlier this year at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. And while this is a completely voluntary operation, it will do nothing to achieve their claimed goal of keeping “kids safe from gun violence.”

We’ve pointed out the ineffectiveness of these turn-in programs in the past, noting how they seem to be popular with some in the general public, but have not been shown to have any measurable impact on violent crime.

Even a study by the National Institute of Justice, undertaken during President Bill Clinton’s tenure, found turn-ins, or “buyback” programs, to have no merit. Published under the title “Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn’t, What’s Promising,” the NIJ study placed turn-ins/”buybacks” under the “What Doesn’t” heading, along with other “programs that we are reasonably certain from available evidence fail to prevent crime or reduce risk factors for crime….”