By Isolde Raftery
Chicago’s firearm buyback program, titled “Don’t kill a dream, save a life,” aims to get dangerous weapons off the street. But a pro-gun rights group gleefully says it used the program to turn in “non-firing junk” to raise money for a National Rifle Association youth shooting camp.
Guns Save Life, based in Champaign, Ill., three hours south of Chicago, turned in dozens of guns and BB guns it had collected – “rusty scrap metal,” the group called the load – taking home $6,240.
Of the 5,500 guns turned in on June 23, 60 came from Guns Save Life.
The Chicago Police Department program pays $100 for every gun and $10 every BB gun, air gun or replica, no questions asked. The money is given in the form of a Visa debit card.
“We are redirecting funds from people who would work against the private ownership of firearms to help introduce the next generation to shooting safely and responsibly,” John Boch, head of Guns Save Life, told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Boch said the money will go toward paying for ammunition for the youth camp.
Police spokeswoman Melissa Stratton was not amused, according to the Sun-Times.
“It’s unfortunate that this group is abusing a program intended to increase the safety of our communities,” Stratton said.
