Many states are instituting gun buyback programs. They believe it’s a way to get guns off of the streets so that violent crimes are no longer committed.
Most people who sell their guns back to the state government are doing so because they have no need for the gun. They found it, they inherited it, or they simply no longer have a use for it. Criminals are still holding onto their guns.
Still, the states believe the program is working. So, one person decided to exploit the program to prove once and for all that it is a waste of money.
A man identified by the name “Kem” claims he got $21,000 worth of gift cards of $500 each by bringing 110 3D-printed frames and receivers to a Utica, New York gun buyback event, which was arranged by New York Attorney General Letitia James Office.
WKTV is reporting that Kem pointed out that the printer only cost him around $200.
He claimed that he “3D-printed a bunch of lower receivers and frames for different kinds of firearms.” Then, he drove to the buyback site in September for the event. When the buyback staff asked him the number of guns he had brought Kem responded, “110.”
FOX News notes that, after Kem admitted to them that he owned 110 guns “he spent the rest of the day negotiating with the Attorney General’s staff over how much the payment for the 3D-printed parts would be.”
Kem informed WKTV that he and the New York attorney general’s office staff were arguing throughout the day about what the attorney general should pay him. And at the end of the day, they handed him 42 of the gift cards of $500 each.
Kem was astonished by the notion that the buyback program was hugely successful as James’s office claimed. “I’m sure handing over $21,000 in gift cards to some punk kid after getting a bunch of plastic junk was a rousing success.”
Kem said, “Gun buybacks are an excellent way to show first of all, that your policies aren’t working and, secondly the fact that you’re creating an unnatural demand. People are being enticed to attend these events and they do not reduce criminal activity in any way.”
The New York AG’s office has released the following statement in response to Kem’s windfall payment: “It’s shameful that this individual exploited a program that has successfully taken thousands of guns off the streets to protect our communities from gun violence. We have partnered with local police throughout the state to recover more than 3,500 guns, and one individual’s greedy behavior won’t tarnish our work to promote public safety.”
3D firearms can be considered a bunch of plastic junk, but they can also work quite well. It all depends on the design that was used and how the mechanics work. Some designs only allow for a single bullet while others can actually create a significant amount of damage.
Kem likely only spent a small amount of money on the plastic used to create 110 firearms. It’s definitely an exploit of the program but it was quite the payoff for him. Meanwhile, New York really didn’t end up getting 110 firearms off of the streets.
The AG’s Office stated, “We have adjusted our policies to ensure that no one can exploit this program again for personal gain.”
We highly doubt that. It’s only a matter of time before someone exploits the program again and again until it gets shut down once and for all.
