A compulsory gun buyback scheme that would work for $42,641 per life saved
Compulsory gun buyback schemes have worked successfully in many countries, but such a thing is politically difficult in the USA.
One way to negate the public hysteria is to create a climate in which the public WANT to hand in their guns.
MONEY is a good motivator
Lots of MONEY
The following Compulsory Gun Buyback prices would motivate people to WANT to hand in their guns, or if they didn’t they can apply for a license.
Categories and amounts
Category A:
Description: Rimfire rifles (not semi-automatic), shotguns (not pump-action or semi-automatic), air rifles including semi automatic, and paintball gun.
Buyback Amount: $500
License available: YES - A "Genuine Reason" must be provided for a Category A firearm.
Compulsory buyback for unlicensed owners: YES
Optional buyback for licensed owners: YES
Category B:
Description: Centrefire rifles (not semi-automatic), muzzleloading firearms made after 1 January 1901.
Buyback Amount: $1000
License available: YES - Apart from a "Genuine Reason", a "Genuine Need" must be demonstrated, including why a Category A firearm would not be suitable. A category B license also covers category A but not vice versa
Compulsory buyback for unlicensed owners: YES
Optional buyback for licensed owners: YES
Category C:
Description: Self-loading rimfire rifles holding 10 or fewer rounds and pump-action or self-loading shotguns holding 5 or fewer rounds.
Buyback Amount: $2000
License available: YES - May be owned by primary producers, occupational shooters, firearm dealers, firearm safety officers, collectors and some clay target shooters can own functional Category C firearms.
Compulsory buyback for unlicensed owners: YES
Optional buyback for licensed owners: YES
Category D:
Description: Self-loading centrefire rifles, pump-action or self-loading shotguns holding more than 5 rounds.
Buyback Amount: $5000
License available: YES - restricted to government agencies and occupational shooters. Collectors may own deactivated Category D firearms.
Compulsory buyback for unlicensed owners: YES
Optional buyback for licensed owners: YES
Category H:
Description: Handguns including air pistols and deactivated handguns.
Buyback Amount: $5000
License available: YES - This class is available to target shooters and certain security guards whose job requires possession of a firearm. To be eligible for a Category H firearm, a target shooter must serve a probationary period of 6 months using club handguns, after which they may apply for a permit. They must participate in a minimum number of matches yearly to retain the license.
Target shooters are limited to handguns of .38 or 9mm calibre or less and magazines may hold a maximum of 10 rounds.
Participants in certain "approved" pistol competitions may acquire handguns up to .45".
Single Action Shooting and Metallic Silhouette. IPSC shooting is approved for 9mm/.38/.357 sig, handguns that meet the IPSC rules, but larger calibres are not approved for IPSC handgun shooting. Category H barrels must be at least 100mm (3.94"
long for revolvers, and 120mm (4.72" for semi-automatic pistols unless the pistols are clearly ISSF target pistols; magazines are restricted to 10 rounds. Handguns held as part of a collection were exempted from these limits.
Compulsory buyback for unlicensed owners: YES
Optional buyback for licensed owners: YES
Category R/E: Restricted weapons, such as machine guns, rocket launchers, full automatic self loading rifles, flame-throwers, anti-tank guns, and other artillery weapons.
Buyback Amount: $10,000
Optional buyback for permanently inoperable weapons: YES - Buyback Amount: $1,000
Compulsory buyback for working (or able to be made working) weapons: YES
License available: YES – for permanently inoperable weapons only and subject to storage requirements.
All buybacks are “no questions asked”, and can be paid for by check or cash at the choice of the person handing them over.
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Economics
Number of guns in the USA (2011): 270,000
People in the USA (2011): 339,900
Victims of gun-related death (2011): 33000
Annual deaths per 100,000 people (2011): 10.3
Australia's gun deaths per 100,000 people: 0.86
Projected USA annual gun deaths if it had the same rate of deaths as Australia's: 2,923
Lives saved: 30,077
Percentage of guns handed in via the Compulsory Gun Buyback (estimated): 95%
Number of Guns handed in (estimated): 256,500
Average price (estimated): $5,000
Total Cost at the above estimations: $1,282,500,000
Cost per life saved: $42,641
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A system such as this would act
- Motivate people to want to hand in their guns
- will encourage criminals to sell their guns to the buyback, and to steal their friends guns to sell them to the buyback too
- allow Gun Shop Owners to retire, they can sell all of their stock and go and do something else
- will give a huge economic boost into the economy
Questions to discuss
1. Would people willingly hand over their guns at these prices?
2. Would it achieve the goal of getting guns off the streets?
3. Would it give the USA an economic boost because of all of the cash being pumped into the economy?
4. Would the republican voters support it (I think they would, because they would want the money for their guns)
5. In an economy the size of the USA's, is a billion dollars on a national scale affordable to achieve a safe society?
With the decades of gridlock and debate with no solution forthcoming… who thinks that this bold plan could work?
How much money is a life worth? $42,641?
Let the debate begin …
Data sources:
https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-guns
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate
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