The LAPD Just Got People to Turn in Their Guns in Exchange for Target Gift Cards (Video)

Last Saturday, the city of Los Angeles conducted its annual “Come rob me, I’m unarmed!” event.

Oops!

I mean, it conducted its annual no-questions-asked Gun Buyback Program event.

From CBSLA:

The event was held until 1 p.m. at two separate locations in Los Angeles. People could sell their guns to the city anonymously.

Sellers qualified to receive a $100 Target gift card for surrendering handguns, shotguns and rifles. Those selling assault rifles qualified for a $200 gift card.

CBS spoke with some of the people who showed up to willingly disarm themselves.

The video is painful to watch, but here you go:

So, I guess if anyone tries to rob, rape, or otherwise harm any of the people who turned their weapons in, they can just throw the gift cards at the assailant?

Or, maybe they can offer the would-be criminal the gift cards to get them to go away. “Here, go shopping at Target, and leave me alone!”

Also, did any of the people who appeared on camera even stop to think, “Hey, I am admitting to being unarmed and therefore unprotected on national TV and essentially announced to everyone who sees this video that I am an easy target?”

Does anyone actually believe that would-be criminals turned in their weapons at that event?

This is truly baffling…law-abiding citizens willingly turning in guns that could have been used to protect themselves and their loved ones should the unthinkable happen.

Maybe they’ve never heard the expression, “When seconds count, the police are just minutes away.”

Or, as in the case of a Dallas resident who was the victim of a home invasion earlier this month…almost an HOUR AND A HALF away.

One woman said she turned in her gun because her home was broken into THREE times and she was robbed at a liquor store she owned. Call me crazy, but that sounds like four good reasons to KEEP a gun around.

Your safety is your responsibility. Many police departments are understaffed because people are leaving the profession. Some people live far from police stations.

And, of course, there is this to consider…

“The police of a state should never be stronger or better armed than the citizenry. An armed citizenry, willing to fight, is the foundation of civil freedom.” – Robert A. Heinlein