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A number of gun buyers flocked to Saturday's gun buyback in downtown Seattle, turning it into a scene reminiscent of a Turkish bazaar. (Brandi Kruse/KIRO Radio photo)

Don: Seattle's gun buyback a "circus" that did more harm than good

BY Josh Kerns  on January 28, 2013 @ 5:26 pm (Updated: 8:39 am - 1/29/13 )

Seattle Police and Mayor Mike McGinn are calling the city's Saturday gun buyback an "overwhelming success." But KIRO Radio's Don O'Neill calls it something else. And suffice it to say it's not favorable.

Officials say they took in over 700 guns, including a missile launcher and three "Street Sweeper" shotguns, high capacity rifles that include a magazine capable of holding twelve 12-gauge shotgun shells in just a few hours Saturday. The event was so popular, they ran out of Amazon gift cards to exchange in less than four hours.

"I think just looking at the name Street Sweeper says it all that's not used for hunting deer so the fact that these are off the street makes a difference," said McGinn.

Don would disagree. He stumbled upon the buyback and open air gun market that sprung up along the street under I-5 as he drove to and from Capitol Hill Saturday morning.

"This is a way for police departments and politicians to make you feel like they're doing something. But if you saw what I saw, I saw a three-ring circus that the mayor created, I saw a traffic jam that went on for miles." And perhaps worst of all, Don says he didn't see the one thing that would have actually made a difference: the kinds of guns actually used in most crimes.

"The gang bang guns that you want or the AR-15 platform that you want from the crazy kid who's mentally unstable between the ages of 15-25, those guns were not being collected. And the guns that had any value at all those were just getting moved around," Don argues.

Instead, he says he saw lots of "middle aged white guys" turning in old guns that were likely gathering dust in the garage. And he's particularly critical of the mayor and police for the widespread gun sales that went on all around the buy back as private buyers flocked to the area with cash in hand, creating what resembled a Turkish bazaar.

It was all perfectly legal. State law permits private gun sales between Washington State residents without a background check. Background checks are only required for retail sales. But Don says officials should have known what was going to happen.

"How did you not see this circus coming?" Don says. "I mean, all you did was move around a bunch of guns. You created an opportunity where I would imagine a lot more guns were sold and changed hands Saturday morning than were turned in."

The mayor said at a press conference Monday it just proves the laws need to be changed and we need a "comprehensive set of background checks on guns" as President Obama has proposed. In the meantime, he says city officials still plan another buyback in the next few weeks and will look at ways to make the next one run smoother.

Officials have argued repeatedly the gun buyback was worth it if even one gun that potentially could be used in a crime or accidental shooting was taken off the streets.

"If I was the mayor I wouldn't do this again. And I was there. And as a citizen I would beg the mayor not to do this again. All you did was you bought a bunch of broken guns."

Officials disagree. In a statement, the city says "despite the presence of private buyers near the event site, very few members of the public chose to sell their weapons, preferring to participate in the gun buyback event."

Josh Kerns, MyNorthwest.com Reporter
Josh Kerns is co-host of KIRO Radio's Seattle Sounds (Saturday nights 7-8) and a digital content producer for MyNorthwest.com.
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Comments (15)


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  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Here is a solution
    January 28, 2013 5:14 pm
    Instead of a circus , and well put B.T.W have the Police go to a persons home that wants to "sell" their gun ..the Police would have gift certificates in hand .. or cash. ...Circus eliminated and impromptu gun show eliminated.Good show you two!
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  • R L M 456 wrote...
    Ron Spins solution
    January 28, 2013 5:39 pm
    Great Idea

    Lets watch Seattle spend ANOTHER million dollars on this Dog and pony show

    By The Way

    expect the Cop thugs to Look all over your house, while they are in a "perps" home

    after all, as we all know

    If you are NOT a cop

    you are a Criminal

    A CITIZEN is ONLY a criminal they have not caught yet

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  • irony wrote...
    problem,...
    January 28, 2013 7:32 pm
    crack heads don't sell back their guns that they use to rob and murder people. solution, arrest the criminals and leave the 99.9% legal gun owners alone. they're not the ones going around shooting up people. criminals are with illegal guns.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • RichardCheese wrote...
    .
    January 28, 2013 5:22 pm
    are you trying to tell me that criminals and mentally disturbed gun owners weren't lined up for blocks to turn in valuable firearms for some giftcards? color me shocked.
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  • irony wrote...
    good point.
    January 28, 2013 7:34 pm
    a guy with 5 warrants for assault with a deadly weapon isn't going to show up and sell his meal ticket for some dumb gift certificate.
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  • Rangerhawk wrote...
    Northwest Dems version of Cash-For-Clunkers
    January 28, 2013 6:28 pm
    The difference: Only the country is laughing at this stupidity instead of the world. So yes, there is a positive here.
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  • irony wrote...
    everyone forgets one thing....
    January 28, 2013 7:31 pm
    criminals don't sell their guns because they don't want to get arrested. all the guns sold back are not guns used by criminals. they keep their guns and begin to relax that their victims are less likely to be armed. gun free zones have more murders than gun rampant zones.
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  • rational wrote...
    "I think just looking at the name Street Sweeper says it all that's not used for hunting deer so the fact that these are off the street makes a difference," said McGinn.
    January 28, 2013 8:00 pm
    You statists should be embarassed to have voted this moron into office. OK, well judging from just the name one might think he's talking about a broom...is he frightened of brooms now?

    And if it's all in a name then why not call "assault weapons" what the Obama admin does...personal defense weapon? And if they're so bad why is the DHS buying 7,000 more (and calling them personal defense weapons)?

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  • tlmbrt wrote...
    @Don
    January 28, 2013 8:27 pm
    Many times I disagree with you, but this time I am with you. This is what occurs when pinhead liberals try to do something to "help". Why is it they NEVER think of taking human nature into account? They always assume that everything will go in the perfect ideal way that they envision. These "well intentioned" do-gooders usually cause more harm than good, and never actually solve the REAL PROBLEM! Why aren't we examining why kids grow up angry and broken, without morals or empathy, desensitized to killing and thinking that FAME is everything?
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  • maplefish wrote...
    What a bunch of fools
    January 28, 2013 8:46 pm
    Ohhh, the liberals and their knee-jerk, touchy feely, pathetic emotional over-reactive "solution" to get guns off the street....BAWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA! Do you idiots really think the criminals are gonna come down and hand over their guns? Every single day you progressive liberals make yourselves look even more ignorant, stupid and irrationally incompetent than the day before. Aren't you embarrassed to be this STUPID???
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  • rational wrote...
    maplefish
    January 28, 2013 9:43 pm
    Ohhh, the liberals...

    I refuse to call them liberals when they are anything but. Statist is one more apt description as they are in favor of big, all powerful state...Ludwig von Mises borrowed and applied the term participatory fascist which also applies as they see the average citizen "must somehow be made to acquiesce in the ruling class’s plundering of their society in the name of “progress,” “nationalism,” “the greater good,” “socialism,” or whatever."

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  • HLC wrote...
    There is nothing progressive about a liberal.
    January 29, 2013 9:55 am
    They are merely trying to take us the way of the Soviet Union to control the populace. History shows it won't work but they are to stoned to see it. This buy back is nothing more than grandstanding without a means to verify the result. Will it save a life? No way to know. Thats what the politicions love.
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  • Ernie in the East wrote...
    What idiots
    January 29, 2013 10:41 am
    What idiots! The bleeding heart liberals of Seattle want guns off the streets (read here, we want criminals to stop using guns to kill innocent people), so what do they do? Let's have a gun buyback day! Hurrah! It's a success! $80,000 worth of gift cards are given out, several hundred guns are turned in. So, how many of those who turned in guns were criminals? How many were arrested for outstanding warrants as they handed in their guns in order to get that prized gift card? ANSWER: ZERO, ZIP, NADA, NONE! So all this hoopla did absolutely NOTHING to stop gun violence in Seattle. The criminals still have their guns. The real problem is that now there are fewer law abiding citizens with guns to protect themselves from all those criminals who stayed away from the gun buyback. But hey, those liberals feel good about themselves for doing this thing. What idiots.
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  • Hangdangler wrote...
    I'm not alone
    January 30, 2013 12:40 pm
    I'm not the only liberal/progressive (or potentially slanderous name you think is clever when labeling a group of people you disagree with) person who believes this gun buyback program backfired in the worst way possible. Sure our mayor and police can call it an "overwhelming success" but anyone who feels strongly about gun violence will take those words with a grain of salt. Just call it what it is Mayor, Less guns on the street= less gun deaths. Statistically that's true, since most gun accidents take place in homes by the owner of the gun by accidentally discharging it. That should be what the gun buybacks are for, make it clear they are not for taking guns away from people who will find a way to get their hands on them. To say that is to stretch a position with emotional persuasion. The "open air gun market" is not acceptable. Do something about it Mayor. Stop using it as a political talking point about it being a microcosm for US gun laws.
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