Thread: Food For Guns In Dallas

Dallasites turn in 147 guns in exchange for grocery cards

07:25 PM CST on Saturday, February 28, 2009
By MATTHEW HAAG / The Dallas Morning News
mhaag@dallasnews.com

The city of Dallas' gun buyback program yielded 147 guns in exchange for $50 grocery store gift cards Saturday, the city announced.

Although many of the guns turned in were generations-old rifles and shotguns, a few of the guns more typically used in crimes – handguns – were collected.

"This shows that people will be behind a positive activity," said Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway, who spearheaded the event at Reunion Arena. "Some of those guns are ones our officers are up against."

Throughout the morning, a steady stream of young and old braved the cold weather to turn in their guns. Mayor Tom Leppert said he initially expected officers would take in about 20 weapons. But just an hour and a half into the event, 77 guns had been exchanged for $50 Kroger cards.

"It's more than I thought we were going to get," Leppert said. "I'm pleasantly surprised."

Dallas police officers who examined the guns generally asked nothing of the people turning them in other than to see their driver's licenses. Officers tagged the guns and inspected them to make sure they were functioning. After putting the guns through a 20-minute inspection process, officers placed them in bins and gave the gift cards. The guns eventually will be smelted.

Those who came had various reasons for participating. Some said their guns had been handed down but never used. Others didn't want the guns around their kids. And some wanted money for groceries.

Gary Reed said he exchanged his guns because of his Christian faith. Reed pulled his sport utility vehicle into the old arena's parking lot around 10:30 a.m., and an officer approached him.

"What you got there," Lt. Gary Tittle asked.

"I got two of them. No, three of them," Reed responded as he pulled out a shotgun, rifle and pistol from the back seat of his SUV.

The two men walked into Reunion Arena, and the officer asked why Reed decided to bring the guns in.

"My church has been asking me to do more," said Reed, 42, who drove 25 minutes to Dallas from Crandall. "These were weapons I got in my younger years, and I'll leave it at that."

Reed said he planned to take the $150 worth of gift cards he'd receive and give them away to strangers.

Caraway said that although the guns collected might not have been used in crimes, that wasn't the point of the buyback. Some could have been stolen later and used in crimes, he said. Others might have lain around homes, where children could have played with them.

"Some of these guns are very dangerous," Caraway said. "It takes only one gun, one shot to destroy a family."

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 0ece0.html

The only people that will have guns will be the criminals: illegals and government...........in all countries that try to make their people get rid of guns.

Didn't know of any gun-in-exchange-for-food deals but I do know ammo is getting harder to find! I'm wondering if the manufactures are waiting (or hoping!) for the price to skyrocket before they bring back routine manufacturing levels?