This was in the Readers want to know column in the Aug 13, 2006 Springfield Sunday Republican:
Q. Not long ago, Springfield had a gun buy-back program to reduce violence. What do they do with the guns they collect?
A. According to Hampden District Attorney William M. Bennett, whose office has worked for more than a decade with various police departments in Hampden County on gun buy-back and amnesty programs, most of the weapons are destroyed.
The goal is to remove illegal guns from their potential role in violent criminal acts. In past programs, the illegal weapons literally have been purchased at specific locations for a set amount of money from their owners, who did not have to identify themselves. The owners, who had to voluntarily surrender the guns and meet certain program conditions, were not prosecuted by Bennett or police for illegal possession or carriage of a gun.
But don't expect to see such events often in Hampden County, where Bennett said there is no longer a formal program. "The people that turned in the guns were not the criminals, so I don't see much value in the program," he said. (bold print mine)
I hope people bookmark and remember this comment the next time a gun buy-back program is proposed.
Q. Not long ago, Springfield had a gun buy-back program to reduce violence. What do they do with the guns they collect?
A. According to Hampden District Attorney William M. Bennett, whose office has worked for more than a decade with various police departments in Hampden County on gun buy-back and amnesty programs, most of the weapons are destroyed.
The goal is to remove illegal guns from their potential role in violent criminal acts. In past programs, the illegal weapons literally have been purchased at specific locations for a set amount of money from their owners, who did not have to identify themselves. The owners, who had to voluntarily surrender the guns and meet certain program conditions, were not prosecuted by Bennett or police for illegal possession or carriage of a gun.
But don't expect to see such events often in Hampden County, where Bennett said there is no longer a formal program. "The people that turned in the guns were not the criminals, so I don't see much value in the program," he said. (bold print mine)
I hope people bookmark and remember this comment the next time a gun buy-back program is proposed.