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Uploaded: Saturday, January 26, 2013, 11:50 PM                                            
Updated: Sunday, January 27, 2013, 11:36 PM

San Mateo gun buyback nets 680 firearms
Among the guns bought were 24 assault rifles

Posted by elko-fer, a resident of the Portola Valley: other neighborhood, on Jan 27, 2013 at 12:50 pm

Bravo! 700 unwanted guns, not waiting around to be stolen, or used by an inebriated person or in a domestic violence case. Some were obviously illegal, does anyone know if they test or investigate the legality of the others?

Posted by Claudia, a resident of the Menlo Park: The Willows neighborhood, on Jan 27, 2013 at 2:45 pm

Great! Hundreds of sane citizens who understand, and have made a wise decision.

Posted by Menlo Voter, a resident of the Menlo Park: other neighborhood, on Jan 27, 2013 at 6:53 pm

Great! Hundreds of citizens have made themselves feel like they're doing something to prevent gun violence. Too bad they're not.

Posted by Thankful Citizen, a resident of the Menlo Park: Fair Oaks neighborhood, on Jan 27, 2013 at 7:28 pm

Great to get all those guns off the street. Do we know if they all are destroyed and how they are destroyed? Good question; Does anyone know if they test them to see if they were used in a crime or do they work?

Posted by steppinout, a resident of the Menlo Park: other neighborhood, on Jan 28, 2013 at 1:41 pm

That's awesome,it's a start in a good direction. Menlo Voter, what's your suggestion to "prevent gun violence"?

Posted by elko-fer, a resident of the Portola Valley: other neighborhood, on Jan 28, 2013 at 1:45 pm

@steppinout: see the NRA handbook for @menlovoter suggestions

Gotta fight crime more, guns in schools, mental stuff, more guns, concealed carry, etc..

Posted by Ol' Homeboy, a resident of the Menlo Park: Allied Arts/Stanford Park neighborhood, on Jan 28, 2013 at 1:45 pm

Does anyone know from whom or where did the $63,500 buy-back money originate? I thought our County was strapped for cash. Certainly, the citizens who were looking for a quick sawbuck in exchange must be.

And come on, these guns weren't "on-the-street", but more likely stored in a garage or closet. For Congresswoman Speier to say, "Every weapon turned in is one less life that might be lost or damaged by a firearm, whether accidentally or intentionally" is totally ludicrous and nothing more than political B.S.

Posted by Participant, a resident of the Woodside: other neighborhood, on Jan 28, 2013 at 1:47 pm

To "Menlo Voter": it's a fallacy to believe that they afforded me any measure of protection whatsoever.

1) They were stored in a locked box, top shelf of an unused room for the safety of my probably snoopy grandkids, so totally inaccessible.

2) Even if they were accessible, am I really going to shoot someone? No. Seriously.

3) Even if I did them to try to just scare off an intruder, it'd be like taking candy from a baby to wrest one away from me and I'd end up being the one who's scared and/or shot.

And yes, especially after Sandy Hook, and especially since I have grandchildren now, I DO feel really, really good about what I did. It actually was a very uplifting, positive event that I hope continues all across the country!

Posted by elko-fer, a resident of the Portola Valley: other neighborhood, on Jan 28, 2013 at 1:52 pm

"And come on, these guns weren't "on-the-street", but more likely stored in a garage or closet."

The Sandy Hook guns were stored, too.

Unlike this gun: "1/23/13: A man who told police he lost his .380 semiautomatic pistol while riding his motorized scooter through a north Longmont neighborhood on Jan. 16 told police he found the gun between some couch cushions in his home on Wednesday."

Web Link

This one isn't as funny: "BOSTON, MA, 1/20/13: “He was cleaning his gun, and he forgot there was a shell in the chamber, and he struck his girlfriend in the head,” he said. “They were madly in love with each other. This wasn’t domestic violence. It was an accident.”"

Posted by Participant, a resident of the Woodside: other neighborhood, on Jan 28, 2013 at 2:00 pm

To "Ol' Homeboy":

1) There were no tax-payer dollars used; if there had been, I would have turned in my guns anyway but not taken the cash for them. Congresswoman Speier provided most of the funds herself, along with private donations.

2) Not true. Last Sat. alone, five people ACCIDENTALLY shot themselves or others while handling guns AT GUN SHOWS. I used to have a .45 that was stolen from my home and no doubt eventually ended up in the wrong hands. That's on me now.

3) There's nothing "political" about this. No one is taking away any of your arsenal. Go Goggle 'accidental shootings' and read for yourself the damage done.

I'm done posting. Just wanted to share my experience and thoughts, not get into interwebs debating nonsense.

Posted by elko-fer, a resident of the Portola Valley: other neighborhood, on Jan 28, 2013 at 2:01 pm

This one is short a couple names, of course

Web Link

Posted by Menlo Voter, a resident of the Menlo Park: other neighborhood, on Jan 28, 2013 at 2:09 pm

Steppinout:

do you want an honest answer, one that won't come from the NRA playbook? Not an NRA member by the way. Dropped my membership the same time George H W Bush did. For the same reasons.

Posted by Menlo Voter, a resident of the Menlo Park: other neighborhood, on Jan 28, 2013 at 2:13 pm

Participant:

go back and look. I never claimed they gave you any measure of protection. You're right, if you aren't/weren't ready to shoot someone that is threatening your life, then having a gun is pointless. It's good that you recognize that and don't try do do something you're not capable of doing. Of course, having a knife, baseball bat or any other deadly weapon would be pointless as well since you obviously aren't interested in defending your life.

Posted by observer, a resident of another community, on Jan 29, 2013 at 9:48 am

Gun control isn't about personal protection or hunting. It's about disabling a population so that the government can control the rest of your lives. Turn them in, Sheep. Turn them all in.

Posted by elko-fer, a resident of the Portola Valley: other neighborhood, on Jan 29, 2013 at 10:37 am

[Post removed, and avoid attacking or characterizing other posters.]