A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Detroit Police Gun Buy-Back

Detroit, Michigan --(Ammoland.com)- During a Detroit gun buy-back program conducted yesterday at a local church, a group of gun rights activists staged an event of their own – a firearm rescue operation.

On Thursday, August 30th, the Detroit Police Department (DPD) and the St. Cecilia Catholic Church conducted a gun buy-back event which netted a reported 365 firearms. Predictably, the organizers announced that the program was a success and that the city would be safer, as a result of citizens voluntarily disarming themselves. Apparently, these folks do not know that there are at least 21 confirmed serial rapists in Detroit and that there have been at least 240 homicides this year, as of last Sunday.

This year’s haul of 365 firearm purchases pales in comparison to 737 guns they bought in August of last year. Of course, they’ll tell you that just one junk gun bought from a widow means that one person may not get shot as a result. This conjecture flies in the face of the fact that gun buy-backs have no measurable effect on violent crime. Furthermore, the police are not asking any questions about the guns such as how they were acquired. These events are conducted for the sake of appearances – another “feel good” media story on how hard the police are “trying” to make our city safer.

Imagine the surprise that the gun buy-back organizers must have felt when about 20 gun rights activists arrived to the scene carrying signs which promised to pay more cash than the church.

For the record, the official prices being paid to participants were $10 for pellet guns, $25 for inoperable junk guns, $50 for working firearms, and $100 for so-called “Assault Weapons” – whatever those may be.

The “gun rescue” was organized by both Michigan Open Carry, Inc. and followers of the “Legally Armed In Detroit” blog. Participants stayed off the private property of the church, displayed their “Buying Guns – CASH” signs, and rescued about 20 firearms. More firearms could have been saved however much of what was being offered for sale was junk. For example, one lady produced a banged up small form-factor Bryco Arms .22LR caliber semi-automatic handgun without a magazine. She was advised to quickly sell it the police before they ran out of money.

The police working the event, 20 – 30 officers, were professional. No major complaints were aired, however, there was one action performed during the event that did cast a shadow. Five officers were standing in the street forming a blockade between the church and private buyers. Obviously, some firearm sellers were intimidated by the show of force and did not run the risk of exploring a better offer for their unwanted firearm.

The “gun rescue” participants had to adjust tactics; sellers were solicited a little further up the street from the church.

In all, some previously unwanted firearms now have a home that appreciates them and the community at large has been educated about the false promises of gun buy-backs. The counter-buy-back has been covered extensively in the media and more people will now demand that their elected officials do more than waste scant public safety resources to solve our violent crime problem. Hopefully, the police department will not have the gall and audacity to stage more of these worthless events in the future.

About The Author
Rick Ector is a National Rifle Association credentialed Firearms Trainer, who provides Michigan CCW Class training in Detroit for students at his firearms school – Rick’s Firearm Academy of Detroit.

Ector is a recognized expert in firearm safety and has been featured extensively in the national and local media: Associated Press, NRAnews, Gun Digest, The Politics Daily, Fox News Detroit, The Detroit News, WJLB, WGPR and the UrbanShooterPodcast.

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