U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “A New Orleans musician, shaken by the recent murder of a nine-year-old boy, wants kids to turn in their guns, for trumpets,” WVUE reported Saturday. “Shamarr Allen says the program is working and he’s hoping to turn around some lives.”
“Bring me a gun…I’ll give you a trumpet, no questions asked,” Allen promised on Instagram. And he reportedly got responses “within hours” from “five kids so far and one of them is a little girl.”
“Working with NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson, Allen figured out a safe way to meet with the kids, to get the guns and hand over the trumpets,” the report claims.
It’s nice to see his relationship with law enforcement has improved since the time he was arrested for beating a police officer. But it would also be nice if that “safe way” claim was fleshed out to explain how the transfers will take place.
That’s important to know because anyone the least bit familiar with true gun safety (which has nothing to do with the prohibitions and restrictions those fluent in grabberspeak demand) understands that those unfamiliar with guns shouldn’t be touching them. Superintendent Ferguson should certainly know that and if tragedy results, New Orleans will have no plausible deniability.
After all, the city filed a lawsuit against gun manufacturers in 1998 claiming guns that weren’t “child-proofed” were “unsafe.” Now, with the sanction of its top cop, the city is urging children to handle and transfer the very guns it sought detailed damages over.
The hypocrisy would be stunning were it not so predictably routine.
There are plenty of other questions that have been asked out over the years that aren’t being answered. You’d think at least one DSM “reporter” with the resources to do more than rewriting press releases and parroting narratives would be asking them.
Start off with is how old are the kids?
“It is unlawful for any person who has not attained the age of seventeen years knowingly to possess any handgun on his person. Any person possessing any handgun in violation of this Section commits the offense of illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile.”
What law allows law enforcement to ignore the law? Or is Ferguson acting without legal authority?
If the gun is found to have been stolen, will it be returned to its rightful owner? Will there be ballistics tests to see if a gun can be matched to a crime? If it can be, particularly to a homicide, will “No questions asked” still apply? And can local police departments honor that commitment for crimes under federal jurisdiction?
Further concerns about such programs are raised in the National Institute of Justice’s “Summary of Select Firearm Violence Prevention Strategies”:
“Evidence: Gun buybacks are ineffective as generally implemented. 1. The buybacks are too small to have an impact. 2. The guns turned in are at low risk of ever being used in a crime. 3. Replacement guns are easily acquired. Unless these three points are overcome, a gun buyback cannot be effective.”
Allen resorts to the old standby “If it saves one life” bit of wishful thinking that gun-grabbers fall back on when trying to justify infringements with emotion instead of logic:
“He says if his idea can turn even one life around and keep one child away from violence, it’s all worth it.”
Let’s hope so. Let’s hope those children lured by the prospect of a free trumpet know to keep their fingers off the triggers, keep the guns pointed in a safe direction and understand that just because a magazine is removed doesn’t mean there’s not a round in the chamber. Because it would be a shame if Allen, Superintendent Ferguson, and all the “do-gooders” donating to the “Trumpet is My Weapon” Go Fund Me appeal shared culpability for a real and entirely preventable tragedy.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.