A Minnesota program to buy up guns in exchange for Visa gift cards has been less successful than anticipated. The guns collected were mostly homemade, unused or antiquated firearms rather than the street guns authorities had hoped to remove from the street.
Below, a picture of one of the guns “bought back” for $100. Photo from Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus.
There were two locations “buying back” the guns but both had to close down early when officials ran out of $25,000 in gift cards.
Apparently people participating in the buyback program were smarter than the officials running it.
One anonymous gun owner told WCCO he received $200 in gift cards that he planned to use to buy a new firearm. That man said he didn’t think the program was serving its intended purpose.
“I just don’t feel that a criminal is going to come up to a fire department with a bunch of police around it and turn in a gun,” he said.
Below, a suspicious crowd of gun owners gather for the buyback program. Photo from Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus.
The buyback event also served as a de facto firearms marketplace. Gun collector Paul Joat bought two guns by making a better offer than the city made with their gift cards.
The guns that were bought back will be decommissioned and used in an art piece.
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