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Attorney General nominee Paula Dow believes program might work for rest of New Jersey
BY JOSH CHAPIN
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
$200 for an assault weapon; $100 for a rifle; taking as many guns off Newark streets as possible: priceless.
People lined up around the block in Newark, East Orange and Irvington as early as 8 a.m. Thursday for the gun buyback program, which is intended to keep the weapons out of the reach of kids and reduce violent crime in these areas, Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow said. Her office paid for this two-day initiative through forfeiture funds, according to the Newark Star-Ledger.
Dow said that in the first four hours of the program yesterday, officials had collected over 300 weapons at the three sites combined. Some of the weapons were even brought in loaded.
"This shows that this program shouldn't just be limited to Essex County but perhaps something we need to look to for the rest of the state," Dow added. "More importantly, at this time of year when tempers are going high, we need to do these kinds of programs to make everybody safe and happy."
Dow, who has been nominated by Gov.-elect Chris Christie to be the next New Jersey Attorney General, related a story from 2008 in Newark about several kids who were innocently playing with a gun in an apartment building. The incident turned deadly though when the gun went off, the bullet traveling through the ceiling of an apartment above and killing a sleeping teenager.
"You can talk about whether it was intentional or not but that gun should never have been in the hands of those kids," Dow noted. "That sleeping child should have been allowed to go to school the next day and not just be another statistic in the morgue."
Cory Booker, Newark's Mayor, said he was impressed and shocked by the program. Some people turned in AK-47s and automatic weapons this time around, according to the mayor, whereas gun buy backs don't normally get the weapons off the streets that are crucial.
"I don't know why it is working but obviously in this austere economic time, people need money and need it quick," Booker said. "...We want those weapons off the streets and we are willing to pay for them."
I understand some people just don't want to own a firearm, and it would be better for them to not have it lying around their home. But seriously, just because those people have a phobia doesn't mean the government should take advantage of them.
Automatic weapons? I doubt it. Those have been tightly regulated since the 1930's and cost thousands of dollars to purchase.
While it's possible that someone turned one in that's been in a closet since WWII, I'd have to see that substantiated before taking the word of a media outlet or a mayor (both of which are notoriously ignorant about guns).
As far as the gun buy up: Great job. Gives criminals a perfect place to fence their stolen guns without fear of arrest or even investigation. Not to mention giving the gang bangers a perfect way to dump crime guns that may be too hot for them to keep. Excellent work in doing absolutely nothing to curb crime, but actually actively assisting criminal behavior and all the while patting yourselves on your backs for FEELING like you're doing something.