Unless you live a sheltered existence, you were probably aware of the fact that the Wayne County Executive - Robert Ficano - carried out on his promise from a recent State of the County speech to have a "Groceries for Guns" event in Detroit. He hooked up with the Goodman-Acker law firm a couple of days ago to buy firearms from area residents, on a no questions asked basis, for a $50 gift card for the Meijer's Grocery Store chain.
Incredulously, Ficano, through his numerous ads on the local airwaves and in a quote recently given to
MLive stated that, "Gun turn-in programs have proven to be successful across the country, and we are pleased to be part of this unique public-private partnership in Detroit."
The truth, however, is quite different. These government sanctioned scams have never been proven anywhere to have an impact on violent crime rates. Rather than pull pseudo-facts and speculative conjecture out of the air, like Ficano does, I am going to give you the facts from our very own government.
"The basic theory behind the gun buy-back is that fewer guns on the street will result in a reduction in gun violence. Despite the popularity of these programs, research has consistently failed to show a link between these programs and a reduction in gun violence. Researchers have found that this is in large part due to the fact that these programs are based on a flawed theory." -
U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance
On May 18th,
CBS Detroit quoted Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano as saying, "you know the guns are made or manufactured now that they can discharge very easily.” Ficano truly has no shame. If it were not true that he was at one time an actual Wayne County Sheriff, I would dismiss the aforementioned quote as an uniformed politician stating something he heard second-hand from a moron. The truth is that firearms do indeed need to be handled with care, however, they are no more easily to discharge today than in years past.
Moreover, in the same above referenced article, the current Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon was quoted as saying, "“What we do know is that the guns we get will never be used against anyone in a crime. That much we do know."
First and foremost, the Wayne County Sheriff's office has a lack of transparency with what it does with firearms that it buys from the public. They do not publish the model and serial numbers of the firearms that it buys. Thus, we, the general public, do not know what they are doing with these firearms. It is indeed possible that these guns will turn up "back on the street."
If they truly had nothing to hide, they would publish the identifying info on their web site and publish a procedure for gun owners to reclaim their property. In contrast, pretending that the people selling them the guns are in fact the true owners is nothing more than wishful thinking, especially since they are not asking asking any questions.
In addition, if the firearms are indeed destroyed without providing proof to the public, Napoleon's statement that they won't ever be used in a crime is true. However, it is also equally true that those guns will also never be used by a law-abiding citizen to protect himself or his family against violent criminals in our society either.
It's not the guns - IT IS THE CRIMINALS - who do heinous acts. By the way, since it is possible that his own personal gun could be stolen one day and used in a crime, why won't Napoleon destroy his gun? Once again, this is a lesson on how to say absolutely nothing while your lips are moving.
In conclusion, I am all for having a debate on firearms. However, if the best that the organizers of this event - Napoleon and Ficano - can do is mislead the public, then maybe they should not have them. Instead, maybe they should engage in activities with our public dollars that do indeed affect violent crime and then legitimately thump their chests in front the media about their good works.
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, UPI, NRAnews, Guns Digest, Tactical-Life, The Truth About Guns, The Politics Daily, Fox News Detroit, The Detroit News, The Detroit Examiner, WJLB, WGPR, and the UrbanShooterPodcast.
For more info about free shooting lessons for women and
Michigan CCW Classes, please contact:
Rick's Firearm Academy of Detroit
Web: http://www.detroitccw.com.
Email: info@detroitccw.com
Phone: 313.733.7404
Last weekend, I made a live guest appearance on the NRANews' "Cam and Company Show" with my mentor, colleague, and friend Pastor Kenn "Black Man With A Gun" Blanchard.
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I do most of my blogging and article writing in coffee shops because there are too many distractions at home.
