Editorial: Time is ripe for a gun buyback program in Boston

Drivers are getting sucker punched by hovering gasoline costs on the pump, however this financial bruising will be turned to Boston’s benefit — if we observe Sacramento’s lead.

As The Hill reported, the Sacramento Police Division launched a “Gasoline for Weapons Buyback” program, geared toward getting firearms off metropolis streets. The division supplied a $50 gasoline card per firearm.

They ran out of present playing cards 45 minutes into the five-hour occasion — and netted 134 firearms, together with at the least one assault weapon, quite a few parts for “ghost weapons” and a number of illegally configured firearms, police mentioned in an announcement Sunday.

“As a division, we’ll proceed to make use of modern concepts to extend the protection of our neighborhood,” mentioned Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester. “I actually imagine violent crime prevention is a shared accountability and right this moment’s overwhelming neighborhood participation is proof of the success we will obtain collectively.”

Nice stuff, and effectively value emulating.

The Boston Police Division has initiated gun buyback applications for years, most notably December one-day “Piece for Peace” occasions commemorating the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary College capturing. Individuals turning of their firearms acquired a $100 present card in return.

The haul has been spectacular and actually, any quantity of weapons taken off Boston streets is a win. Particularly because the variety of weapons exhibiting up within the metropolis has escalated in current months.

Because the Herald reported, Boston Cops took 15 weapons off the road final week, and the division studies a “troubling” uptick of youngsters carrying firearms forward of the summer time months.

Weapons have proven up in native faculties, and officers have responded to “photographs fired” calls round Boston through which juveniles and adults had been brandishing firearms.

Boston has taken a large step to struggle this with the current launch of the Boston Firearm Intelligence Evaluation and Shooter Concentrating on (FIRST) Job Pressure, introduced earlier this month by Suffolk District Lawyer Kevin Hayden.

As reported, this program combines assets from the district legal professional, the U.S. legal professional’s workplace, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston police and the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Division.

“The Boston Firearm Intelligence Evaluation Taking pictures and Trafficking (Boston FIRST) program goals to make use of state-of-the-art ballistic monitoring know-how to scale back gun violence by figuring out the supply of crime weapons and the people accountable for trafficking them into the Metropolis of Boston,” the announcement mentioned.

The plan right here is to stem the tide of unlawful weapons getting on the town’s streets.

A gun buyback program now would add important muscle to the hassle.

The tip of the varsity yr is weeks away, and which means kids hitting neighborhood streets and parks. No dad or mum ought to have to fret that their baby might get shot taking part in with their pals in the summertime solar.

With gasoline costs hitting the stratosphere, the promise of a gasoline card supplies a very well timed and financially welcome incentive to show in a firearm. The price wouldn’t be low cost, because of those self same gasoline costs, however we will consider few issues value funding as a lot as an effort to scale back gun violence in Boston.

The timing is with us, the desire is there — now it’s as much as Boston to fund a gas-for-guns buyback program earlier than an extended, sizzling summer time grips the town.