In article ,
"Ed Huntress" wrote:

"Joseph Gwinn" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Ed Huntress" wrote:

"Joseph Gwinn" wrote in message
...
In article
,
rangerssuck wrote:

On Jul 26, 1:21 am, Don Foreman wrote:

Wull yah, and that's good news indeed! We don't need more gun
control legislation, we merely need to collect them from the
schoolyards and atmosphere more often.

And with that, this conversation has come completely full circle. The
original post, if you remember was about a program in Newark, NJ to do
just that. Collect the guns off the streets, at a price of $1k each. I
think it's a good idea. You may or may not.

It isn't a good idea, no matter what one thinks of guns and gun
control.

The problem is simple economics -- there are at least 100 million old
guns around, guns that cost no more than $100 to buy. With a 90%
profit
margin, the supply will be infinite, and Newark will go bankrupt long
before the supply of guns is detectably affected, never mind
significantly.

Joe Gwinn

Not a problem, Joe. With every $1,000 gun bounty in Newark goes a 3- to
5-year minimum prison sentence for the guy who had it. It kind of
discourages gaming the system.

Actually, that's worse -- it make planting evidence profitable. What a
way to eliminate a rival or settle a score.

Joe Gwinn

As I said early in this thread, you shouldn't have any trouble recognizing
it -- unless you're so numb that someone can plant a handgun on you without
your notice. g

It has been done, Ed. The classic way was to sneak the contraband into
a backpack or vehicle.


I think you can forget the negative scenarios, Joe. They aren't going to
happen. This proposal is pretty straightforward. I doubt if it will do very
much to help, but it might.

In the 1970s, I lived in Washington, DC. The young couple in the
apartment below me were both lawyers working at the Dept of Justice,
they being on their way to becoming prosecutors. I borrowed and read
their textbook on Criminology. One factoid that has stuck with me for
all these years is that 5% of felony accusations are knowingly false. A
major part of the job of prosecutor is to not be misled, to avoid being
used.

Joe Gwinn