Norton Gun Buyback Bill Responds to National Rise in Gun Killings (10/4/07)

Norton Gun Buyback Bill Responds to National Rise in Gun Killings
October 4, 2007

Washington, DC-- As the District's handgun ban goes before the Supreme Court this month and gun control opponents and supporters are lining up on both sides, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced a bill to launch a nationwide gun buyback program that "offers a common sense, bi-partisan attempt to find a solution to gun violence that does not conflict with most stances on the controversial issue of gun control." The Nationwide Gun Buyback Act (NGBA) would provide $50 million in federal funds for local jurisdictions to run gun buyback programs like the successful programs that have been conducted by the District of Columbia and other big cities during periods of increasing gun violence. This program would allow people who desire to remove guns, including illegal weapons, from their homes to do so voluntarily without incurring criminal penalties for possession.

Norton's bill comes as this year's D.C. homicide rate is 6 percent ahead of last year's rate, with nearly all of these killings committed with handguns. In 2006, the District recorded a 20-year low in murders. However, 2007 is on pace for an increase in the murder rate for the first time in five years. Beyond the nation's capital, the latest Justice Department national statistics show that murders increased by almost 2 percent in 2006 when compared with 2005 murders. "The devastating effect of handguns on inner cities is indisputable," Norton said. "The federal government can play a role in reducing gun violence by providing the small amount of funding authorized by my bill to encourage and facilitate buyback efforts where a local jurisdiction believes they can be helpful." The bill's purpose is particularly targeted to get illegal guns off the streets, which local jurisdictions would support regardless of views or laws concerning possession of handguns.

Norton said that D.C.'s gun buybacks have proven to be a faster and easier way to put guns under the control of law enforcement where criminals cannot use them, and children and adults cannot misuse them. Several years ago the District conducted a pilot buyback program using funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Long lines of residents desiring to turn in their guns prompted police to expand the program citywide. The city used almost $300,000, but later ran out of money, but did not run out of guns that could have been collected. "The guns were a ‘good buy,' but hard-pressed jurisdictions, especially big cities, have no readily available funds and should not have to rob Peter to pay Paul when it comes to public safety," Norton said. After an evaluation of proposals, added weight would be given to jurisdictions with the greatest incidence of gun violence according to Norton's bill.

The Congresswoman was first encouraged to introduce a gun buyback bill in 2003. On Father's Day of that year, citizens who had lost relatives to gun violence and others gathered to declare a moratorium on murder for the Father's Day weekend. The moratorium had important symbolic value and perhaps more because there was only one murder that weekend. Norton said what impressed her most was the fact that the moratorium was entirely citizen initiated. "Residents themselves, around the country, must take responsibility for crime and not regard criminal activity as a matter for the police alone," she said, "but the federal government is obligated to find a way to help as crime rises sharply throughout the country." Families, and especially mothers, have feared guns in their homes, but often do not know how to get rid of them. Groups such as street gangs and crews also could take advantage of the buyback provisions to encourage them to disarm themselves.

"Gun buyback efforts are not new, and my bill is certainly no substitute for gun safety legislation, but it is based on demonstrated and successful experience in a number of cities that have achieved voluntary compliance by citizens with local laws," Norton said. "In a market economy, efforts to buy back guns have obvious appeal. We may disagree on the various approaches to reduce gun violence, but Democrats and Republicans alike can agree to this sensible approach."