City leaders in Houston are still hailing the success of a recent gun “buyback” program despite the fact that one man cashed in big time by selling the city a box of cheap 3D-printed guns.
Though his name has not been released to the public, the individual reportedly made $3,100 selling 62 homemade guns — that cost him roughly $3 to fabricate! — to the city for at least $50 each.
The profitable stunt was to push back against the misuse of tax dollars.
“The goal was not personal profit,” the man told Fox26, “but to send [Houston leaders] a message about spending $1 million tax dollars on something that has no evidence of any effect on crime…”
Earlier this year, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner unveiled the “One Safe Houston” initiative. The city received $53 million in federal funding to fight crime, $1 million of which is being earmarked for buyback programs.
Big shout out to whoever it was that turned in 62 3D printed guns for $150 each at a Houston gun buy-back pic.twitter.com/QYUNxG0Jg6
— Xaniken (@Xaniken) July 31, 2022
In light of the participant’s big score, Mayor Turner said organizers will not be accepting 3D-printed guns during the next event.
“We’re going to exclude those next time around,” said Mayor Turner. “This is a program designed for people who want to voluntarily relinquish their guns.”
In total, the city took in 845 firearms. Visa gift cards were exchanged in increments of $50, $100, $150 and $200, depending on the type of firearm.
SEE ALSO: Gun ‘Buybacks’ Don’t Reduce Crime, Says New Study
The city is planning on hosting at least two more buybacks in the coming weeks.
The anonymous man who made the $3,100 said he would like to see some reforms at these events.
“Pay fair prices [at gun buyback events], use private donations rather than tax dollars, and don’t destroy historic guns,” he said.
But he’s not the only one who wants to see some changes. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg doesn’t like the no-questions-asked policy.
Ogg told KHOU11 that it gives “anonymity and immunity for everyone who turns in a weapon.”
“This is extremely important on a number of different legal issues and also to be able to solve crime,” First Assistant DA David Mitcham told KHOU11 on Monday.
“Someone is turning in a gun that is related to a crime and then there’s no way of being able to follow up an investigation because identification wasn’t pursued whenever they turned the gun in,” he added.
“Buybacks” are a giant waste of time and resources, as GunsAmerica has previously reported. It is true that there is absolutely zero evidence that they reduce crime.
The city of Houston should definitely reconsider how it spends the remainder of that $1 million as putting toward another “buyback” would be no better than lighting it on fire.
Re: taxes; i try to voluntarily pay my assigned share of “donation”, to keep from being harassed by somebody who has managed to get into a position where they feel its their job, the better to leave them the time to do unto those who better deserve such attention. Sure, someay call it appeasement, but this ol’ bird is more comfortable with that than giving-up any feathers, as per aesop.
I knew Austin was the blue spot in Texas, but it must be spreading. Here in Western NC, Asheville is the blue spot in a sea of red, and they have every problem San Fran and LA have, and enthusiastically welcome border crossing illegals, but thankfully their problems do not go much outside of the county line…yet. When Antifa did its thing in Asheville, they headed this way and were met by a store owner, citizen, and our PD, standing in the doorway of each business on main street, and armed. They went one block, got back on their bus and left.
As a stunt, an interesting way to make a stack of folding spenders, but, like fire-eating on the sidewalk, not something i would have done. Maybe now he can buy a bigger 3-D unit and make, say, new prosthesii for homeless vets, or, star trek fashion, a new backbone for a worthy politician. Be inventive! This is America! Yay!
Politicians. On average, dumbest animal on God’s green earth.
The state of CT tried the same thing back in the 90’s but they were giving $500 for what they considered assault style guns. People were buying brand new, IN THE BOX, NEVER FIRED SKS rifles for $99 and getting $500 for them! Democrats do the stupidest things!
How can you buy back something you didn’t sell in the first place. Take the gun to a gun store and receive fair value. Save something that might be rare.
Only stupid people are on both sides of these events. Only leftists would support this kind of event, and only leftists would turn a gun in to these events (especially criminals who want to get rid of a weapon used in a violent crime), except the rare occasion where a conservative can scam them back! None of the money that the government spends, whether state or fed, is “tax dollars”. The government owns the printing press (although they have the fed reserve do the printing), and they just print and print more bogus money. The whole income tax system is a scam that 99% of Americans are stooooopid enough to participate in, and in doing so the fed has control over you.
They can’t buy back what was never theirs.
The “buyback” program itself is a “stunt”. It does nothing to reduce crime and the whole progam is misnamed–you can’t buy back something you never owned in the first place just another example of democrats misnaming something to elicit sympathy.
Stuntin’ and frontin’. I hate to see these programs abused like this.
LOL! Welfare, SSDI, COVID relief, and EVERY other government program in history have been abused. The real issue is the continuing waste of taxpayer money on things that shouldn’t be funded by government.
Yet you appear to have no qualms with Our government
abusing funds of taxpayers for frivolous programs ?
You , sir , are a piece of work .
I use to interact with a guy on one of the gun boards that called himself a blue dog Democrat. Don’t if that was this person or not. The person I interacted with was a lawyer and a big time gun collector. His knowledge of firearms was immense. His knowledge of Garands alone was astounding. He built guns and was very helpful when someone need information. I came away from my interactions with him thinking that he just enjoyed presenting another side or opposite side of an argument. Always figured it was the lawyer in him. Anyway, if that person was you Blue Dog, you are sorely missed by some of us on the old site.
I am not a lawyer, I have never been too high on Garands, but if this was 12 or so years ago on a local, geographically focused board for a city to get to by morning, I may have been your huckleberry.
Blue Dog, nope you ain’t he/him.