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By Joshua Larkin, Staff Writer
As most Americans know, there is a debate going on in our political arena today regarding the right to bear arms. In response to mass shootings that have occurred in recent years, a significant amount of the American population has called for increased gun regulation, including candidates running for the Democratic nomination for President. Of the candidates running, three have mentioned plans to completely ban citizens from possessing any type of semi-automatic rifle.[1] These proposed gun bans, under the title of a gun buyback, call upon the federal government to mandate citizens to turn over their semi-automatic rifles to the government in exchange for a monetary payment.[2] Even though this proposed policy is not yet implemented, is this program legal for the government to enforce, and how effective will it be to prevent gun-related crimes?
Naturally, mandated gun buyback ideas have raised criticism from voters. Many critics argue that enforcing a gun ban like this would be a violation of the Second Amendment, deeming it unconstitutional.[3] This type of legislation would not be as easy as signing executive orders, as voters from the right wing will certainly challenge the constitutionality of it, especially if it were a proposed policy such as Beto O’Rourke’s. O’Rourke’s policy would ban semi-automatic rifles and accessories, including “high-capacity” magazines and foregrips.[4] Many from the right have already challenged the legality behind his ban, but no formal conclusions have been decided yet.
The next legal obstacles mandated gun buybacks would face are the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. The Fourth Amendment provides citizens the right “to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.”[5] Experts contend “while the Second Amendment grants the right to own a firearm, the Fourth Amendment ensures that firearms . . . cannot simply be seized by the government.”[6] The Fifth Amendment would also cause trouble for the constitutionality of mandated buybacks because it protects one’s property from seizure from the government without due process.[7] While mandated buybacks have not yet been enforced in the U.S., they will certainly be met with claims of unconstitutionality if they ever came to fruition.
Assuming legal issues are resolved, how likely is it that this policy could reduce gun crimes in the U.S.? Few countries around the globe have tried to implement gun buybacks, but those who did have received mixed results. Beginning in 1996, Australia enacted gun bans which gave the government the power to confiscate massive amounts of citizens’ firearms.[8] Australia has been cited countless times as being the example for a gun-free country, but in 2019, Australia experienced “the worst spree shooting since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre” when a gunman killed four individuals and injured others.[9] Despite this tragic shooting occurring, the Australian government states that the crime rate has decreased since the implementation of the ban, which the members from the left, such as Beto O’Rourke, support.[10] Obviously, less crime is a good thing, but there has been some skepticism if it is a result of the gun ban. The sharp decrease in crime and homicide began in 2003, four years before the ban, and this trend has continued since.[11] Therefore, experts from the right contend that this decreased rate is simply a result of the trend of declining crime overall.
The next obstacle would be the cost to the government to enforce such a policy. When Australia instituted their gun buyback, the government collected enough funds to pay for the buyback by increasing their tax on Medicare by 0.2% for one year, but this would not be as easy for the U.S.[12] Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif. suggests a national buyback costs as much as $15 billion, with an estimate of $800 to $1,000 for every AR-15.[13] However, experts suggest this estimate is low because it only accounts for AR-15s; it does not include the number of AK-47s, SKS rifles, H&Ks, and other semi-automatics in circulation today.[14] After adding these to the estimate and using Rep. Swalwell’s estimated cost per rifle, the actual cost could conceivably reach as high as $100 billion.[15] It will most certainly be difficult for the government to implement policy that is controversial and costs up to $100 billion, when another controversial policy regarding the southern border wall failed to pass earlier this year, which was estimated to cost $5 billion.
While the national buyback has not yet been implemented, there are some areas in the country that have implemented regional buybacks, but results were mixed. In Baltimore, buybacks were held, but these programs’ prices were “ripe for abuse.”[16] The program offered $25 for “high-capacity” magazines, while citizens purchased them online for as low as $9.[17] Tucson, Arizona offered a similar buyback program without much success. Tucson offered $10,000 worth of grocery gift cards in exchange for assault weapons, but no assault weapons were recovered.[18] The only weapons turned in were old firearms that had been passed down through generations, and the buyback proved “no statistical significance.”[19]
Only time will tell how our government will address the idea of implementing gun buybacks in the country, but it will certainly be met with heavy opposition based on legal precedent and arguments of how similar gun buyback programs have been implemented in our country and around the globe in recent years.
[1] https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/heres-2020-democrats-differ-gun-control/story?id=62970498
[2] Id.
[3] https://thefederalist.com/2015/06/25/the-australia-gun-control-fallacy/
[4] https://www.thetrace.org/2019/09/assault-weapon-buyback-policy-cost-estimates/
[5] U.S. Const. Amend. IV
[6] https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2019/04/gun-buyback-program-america/
[7] https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/09/25/could-beto-o-rourke-really-take-your-guns-if-government-attempts-a-buyback-here-s-how-it-would-work/
[8] https://www.factcheck.org/2017/10/gun-control-australia-updated/
[9] https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/05/australia/australia-darwin-gun-attack-intl/index.html
[10] https://www.foxnews.com/media/beto-orourke-gun-confiscation-buyback-police.amp
[11] https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/05/australia/australia-darwin-gun-attack-intl/index.html
[12] https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/05/03/ban-assault-weapons-buy-them-back-prosecute-offenders-column/570590002/
[13] https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/09/25/could-beto-o-rourke-really-take-your-guns-if-government-attempts-a-buyback-here-s-how-it-would-work/
[14] https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2019/04/gun-buyback-program-america/
[15] Id.
[16] https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-ed-op-0102-gun-buybacks-20181220-story.html
[17] Id.
[18] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/12/gun-buybacks-popular-but-ineffective/1829165/
[19] Id.
