In a bid to not only get guns away from kids but also to give them a healthier outlet, authorities in Louisiana are offering PlayStations in exchange for firearms.
According to the Associated Press, the buyback initiative was organised by a local nonprofit to engage youth in the area with gaming instead of more dangerous activities.
The same report says authorities were able to collect and dismantle 32 firearms, including revolvers and semi-automatics. The exchange took around two hours on Tuesday (31 Dec) morning.
No questions were asked as long as the guns were functional.
Source: The Associated Press
According to a co-director of the nonprofit’s gaming program, local interest in the exchange was very high.
“If my inbox is filled up with people who say they want to do this, I just felt a necessity to go out and try to raise some more money,” J.D. Carrere, co-director of the programme, said.
The exchange was reportedly funded by donations from two private businesses.
Over the past 6 months, the city of New Orleans has collected 94 firearms in three separate buybacks which all involved swaps for gaming devices.
Source: The Associated Press
New Orleans has had one of the highest rates of homicides in the United States. With the state loosening gun ownership restrictions and opting instead for harsher sentences for crimes, many felt it was necessary to get guns off the streets.
Mr Carrere said the buybacks were in direct response to these more relaxed gun ownership laws.
However, many have questioned if buybacks are truly effective at curbing violent crime. One 2021 report suggests that buybacks have done little to reduce it.
Additionally, critics also say that these buybacks often don’t reach the people most likely to commit the crimes.
The exchanges are also rife with loopholes that are likely to be exploited. One example is when a man in New York began mass-producing 3D-printed guns to exchange them for gift cards.
This loophole didn’t escape the eye of netizens who suggested buying a cheap US$100 gun from a pawnshop and exchanging it for a US$500 PlayStation 5.
Despite the critics and loopholes, community leaders in New Orleans choose to focus on the opportunities it brings for youth.
Instead of seeing it as a simple exchange to remove guns, the initiative is instead seeking to connect families to city-supported gaming programs for their kids.
“To simply take a gun away is not enough,” Carrere said. “I think to replace it with opportunity is really what we’re doing.”
In fact, one 50-year-old grandmother waited in line all morning on Tuesday to turn the gun in her house into a game console for her kids. Despite having it for a decade, Leticia Clanton gave up the gun so that her eight grandkids could have games to play.
“With all the grandkids and all the violence that they got going on, it’s time to get it up off the street,” Ms Clanton said. “[The Playstation’s] going to be for all of them to share when they come to the house.”
Also read: Pizza Hut Canada introduces PS5 attachment to keep pizza warm while you game
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Featured image adapted from The Associated Press.
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