Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 17, 1994 TAG: 9401170118
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: DAVID REED ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Norfolk tried it about two years ago, and Charlottesville minister David Poist said the buy-back idea is getting more popular because "it's a concrete way for people to help remedy the epidemic of violence."
In December 1991, Norfolk collected 1,093 firearms, including 34 illegal guns and a machine gun, and spent $39,720 on reimbursements.
About 50 cities in the United States have had gun buy-back programs since then, according to Handgun Control Inc. Most programs have been in large metropolitan areas, but a few were in smaller cities like Beloit, Kan.
Poist said St. Paul's Memorial Church hopes to raise $5,000 by Thursday, then offer gift certificates of $50 to $100 for each gun turned in. But he said the goal may be exceeded because $2,400 was pledged the morning after the program was announced last Wednesday.
The death of Sharon Tanner, 2, the previous weekend in a drug-related shootout at her home underscored the need to reduce the number of guns in the city, Poist said.
"That solidified the effort," he said. "I could see this as a memorial gesture to a little girl who didn't have a chance to grow up."
Danville youth counselor Larry Campbell said he plans to begin the gun roundup coordinated by Bibleway Worldwide Church after an organizational meeting Thursday. The church also plans to offer gift certificates for children in return for toy guns.
On the day the program was announced last week, a Woodrow Wilson Middle School student was suspended after bringing an unloaded handgun to school.
"Children are learning that shooting and killing people is OK," Campbell said. "We're trying to take that mentality - using guns to shoot - and replace it with something positive - put a computer or a book in your hand."
Charlottesville police chief John deK. Bowen said a gun buy-back program won't get the guns out of the hands of criminals using them to commit robberies and assaults. But he said it can send strong signals that the community is concerned about violence and wants to get guns off the street.
Bowen and Danville Police Chief T. Neal Morris said the programs also may remove and destroy guns that could be found by children and accidentally fired or guns that could be stolen and then used in crimes.
But Erich Pratt, director of government affairs for Gun Owners of America, said turning over firearms to law enforcement agencies could increase the number of crimes in a community because unarmed citizens would be unable to protect themselves.
Morris pointed out the program is voluntary, and any residents who believe they need guns for self-defense can keep them.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.