[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 7, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E730]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         INTRODUCTION OF THE NATIONWIDE GUN BUYBACK ACT OF 2002

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 7, 2002

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today I introduce the Nationwide Gun Buyback 
Act of 2002 (NGBA) to mark Mother's Day, in recognition of the strong 
support mothers across the nation have demonstrated for gun safety, and 
in light of continued gun violence in our communities. The NGBA would 
provide $100 million in federal funds to local jurisdictions to hold 
gun buyback programs similar to the successful programs conducted by 
the District of Columbia and other cities over the last three years. 
Under the bill, funds would be distributed through the Bureau of 
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and, after evaluation of proposals, 
added weight would be given to jurisdictions with the greatest 
incidence of gun violence. The NGBA would require that a jurisdiction 
certify that it is capable of destroying the guns within 30 days, that 
it can conduct the program safely, and that an amnesty appropriate for 
the jurisdiction will be offered. Not only individuals, but groups such 
as gangs could take advantage of the buyback provisions to bring in 
guns and encourage street gangs to disarm themselves.
  Families, and especially mothers, fear guns in their homes, but have 
not known how to get rid of them. In many jurisdictions, a grandmother, 
father or other family member may be petrified that there is a gun in 
the house but cannot turn it in without subjecting the family member or 
her grandson to possible prosecution. This unintended result of gun 
safety legislation is reason enough for the amnesty achieved through 
gun buyback efforts.
  This bill is necessary because, despite the extraordinary 
demonstrated success of the gun buyback program in the District, in 
which over $528,000 was spent to recover 6,250 firearms in three 
buybacks, local jurisdictions lack readily available funds for similar 
programs. The experience of the District of Columbia is instructive. 
The District was forced to find money on an ad hoc basis and ran out of 
funds despite indications that there were many residents who still 
desired to turn in guns. Initially, the District conducted a pilot 
program using funds from the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development. The response of the public was so strong, with residents 
standing in long lines, that the Police Department took the program 
citywide, using drug asset forfeiture funds. Even so, after using 
$290,000, the city ran out of funds, but not of guns that could have 
been collected.
  The guns were considered a ``good buy'' because they were unlicensed 
and illegally possessed, but hard-pressed jurisdictions, especially big 
cities, should not have to rob Peter to pay Paul when it comes to 
public safety. The federal government can play a unique and 
noncontroversial role in reducing gun violence by providing the small 
amount authorized by my bill, $100 million, to encourage buybacks 
efforts where they can be helpful.
  With this bill, we are taking the gun buyback leadership of the 
District and other cities nationwide. We have demonstrated a faster and 
easier way to get guns where criminals cannot use them and children and 
adults cannot misuse them. Gun buyback efforts are not new, but the 
recent, dramatic impact of the program of the District and other 
jurisdictions have special bipartisan and natural appeal today because 
the program is voluntary and requires no change in local laws. My bill 
has the added feature of skirting the present stalemate in the 
Congress, where we have yet to pass a gun safety bill. A gun buyback 
bill is no substitute for gun safety legislation, but my bill is based 
on demonstrated and successful experience in a number of cities that 
have achieved voluntary compliance by citizens with local laws.
  Two years ago this weekend, almost a million mothers and their 
families gathered on the Mall to demand that Congress heed their call 
to enact strong gun safety legislation. These families believed that 
the federal government has an obligation to help protect our children 
and all our citizens. It is time that we fulfill that obligation by at 
least passing a bill that takes guns out of unauthorized hands.
  I urge my colleagues to support this vital legislation.

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