Senate rejects additional money for gun buy-backs

Human Events, Aug 13, 2001

On August 2, the Senate voted 65 to 33 to table (kill) an amendment to the VA-HUD Appropriations bill (HR 2620) that would have set aside $15 million for the BuyBack America program.

The program uses tax dollars to buys guns from citizens in an effort to decrease crime. President Clinton initiated the program, but President Bush recently rescinded it, citing ineffectiveness.

Program operators had faced varying problems, such as spending money on buying old guns that are not commonly used to commit crimes, buying old service revolvers from policemen, or buying guns from law-abiding citizens, all of which contributed to the ineffectiveness of the BuyBack America program.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D.-N.Y.), supporting his amendment to spend $15 million on buybacks, said that the program is good because it takes guns off the streets. "I do not have to oversell my case because it is such a strong case," Schumer said. "The strong case is a simple case, and that is when guns are off the streets and not in unwanted hands, our society is likely to be safer."

The senator also made a pointed attack at the Bush Administration's decision to terminate funding for the program.

"Because of this administration's assault on rational laws that keep guns out of the hands of criminals, they took it out. It would be a lot better for our society if we put it back," he said.

Sen. Larry Craig (R.-Idaho) strongly criticized the program's pitfalls and overall failure. "In 1978, in Baltimore, it did not work.

Crime went up. In this city [Washington, D.C.] over 2,000 guns were purchased, many of them 15 years of age and older. They are not the current weapons used on the street in street crime:'

A "yes" vote was a vote to table (kill) the amendment calling for the spending of $15 million to resurrect the gun buy-back program. A "no" vote against tabling was, in effect, a vote approving $15 million for the buy-back program.

FOR THE MOTION TO TABLE (65)

DEMOCRATS FOR (18): Baucus, Bayh, Bingaman, Breaux, Byrd, Carnahan, Cleland, Conrad, Dorgan, Edwards, Feingold, Johnson, Leahy, Lincoln, Miller, Nelson (Neb.), Reid (Nev.) and Rockefeller.

REPUBLICANS FOR (46): Allard, Allen, Bennett, Bond, Brownback, Bunning, Burns, Campbell, Chafee, Cochran, Collins, Craig, Crapo, DeWine, Ensign, Enzi, Frist, Gramm (rex.), Grassley, Hagel, Hatch, Helms, Hutchinson (Ark.), Hutchison (Tex.), Inhofe, Kyl, Loft, Lugar, McCain, McConnell, Murkowski, Nickles, Roberts, Santorum, Sessions, Shelby, Smith (N.H.), Smith (Ore.), Snowe, Specter, Stevens, Thomas, Thompson, Thurmond, Voinovich and Warner.

INDEPENDENTS FOR (1): Jeffords.

AGAINST THE MOTION TO TABLE (33)

DEMOCRATS AGAINST (32): Akaka, Biden, Boxer, Cantwell, Career, Clinton, Corzine, Daschle, Dayton, Dodd, Durbin, Feinstein, Graham (Fla.), Harkin, Hollings, Inouye, Kennedy, Kerry, Kohl, Landrieu, Levin, Lieberman, Mikulski, Murray, Nelson (Fla.), Reed (R.I.), Sarbanes, Schumer, Stabenow, Torricelli, Wellstone and Wyden.

REPUBLICANS AGAINST (1): Fitzgerald.

NOT VOTING (2): Domenici and Gregg.