A 41-year-old Greenbelt man wants Prince George’s County to earmark $100,000 for a program to “buy” guns from county residents in exchange for gift cards for groceries and phone calls.
“My goal is to just get guns in and away from people’s homes,” said Tom Trunk.
Trunk made his appeal at the council’s final public budget hearing Tuesday night, citing a program once run by police in D.C.
According to the Web site for the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, three gun buyback programs offered between August 1999 and December 2000 bought back 6,253 firearms at $50 to $100 a weapon. Money for the program, roughly $528,000, came primarily from federal sources, the site said.
Bought-back weapons were analyzed for possible involvement in crimes and eventually melted down at a local foundry. Their previous owners were granted amnesty from any gun-possession charges.
Lack of federal funds ended that program. What impact the buyback had on crime in the District is unclear, said D.C. police spokesman Kevin Morison.
“That’s the $64,000 question people always ask,” Morison said. “It is impossible to prove a negative. What crime didn’t happen? What shooting didn’t take place?”
A Prince George’s County Sheriff spokesman said his office had not considered such a program. No one at the county police department was available Wednesday to comment on the proposal, according to a spokesman.
Trunk said buyback programs aren’t perfect — money has been used to purchase newer weapons or older, unused guns have been turned in.
“Whether they be new guns or not,” Trunk said, “at least you’re creating an awareness.”
Prince George’s County anti-crime gun program
People who believe they know of a gun used in a crime can call 866-643-2369. Tipsters may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
