Over the weekend, an article was published in the New York Times by Mike McIntire about the little known afterlife of guns in gun buyback programs. The article starts in Flint, and points out how many community buyback programs — while branded as a method to reduce the amount of firearms available — actually give the seized guns a new life. McIntire explained how, instead of destroying the entire gun (as is commonly advertised), private companies, such as GunBusters, will often destroy the one part of the gun that makes it a firearm, the receiver or the frame, and sell the rest of the gun as a kit — which are largely complete. While many of the activists and public officials that McIntire spoke with for this article were not aware of this reselling, the process does not violate any laws.
Stateside spoke with McIntire to hear more about this commonly misunderstood process, and what community reactions have been.
GUEST:
- Mike McIntire, investigative reporter for the New York Times
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