WM council tables gun buy-back plan

WM council tables gun buy-back plan

McClendon looking for ‘ a way to stand up and get some of these guns off the street’

news@theeveningtimes.com

Fewer guns on city streets. A rash of gun-related incidents that has plagued the northeast side of West Memphis this summer has stirred at least one city councilman to action.

Councilman Marco Mc-Clendon called for gun buy-back at the July 20 city council meeting, but ultimately tabled the legislation to flesh out details.

Mayor Bill Johnson and other city councilmembers wanted a spending cap set for the program and to have the appropriate municipal committees work out the details.

A gun buy-back done by the police would aim at reducing the number of weapons owned by citizens and provide a way to turn in weapons without risk of prosecution, according to McClendon.

“I’ve talked to the chief and he is of a different mind on some of these things now,” said Johnson.

Critics say gun buy-back programs have a minimal impact, a view shared by Councilman James Holt.

The councilman dismissed the buyback idea out of hand and talked about turning in an old gun that he named Rusty to make his point. He told city council the folks most likely to perpetrate violence won’t disarm and that the guns collected will be worthless and obsolete, unlikely to be used in a criminal shooting. “A large percentage of guns turned in will be old and unusable,” said Holt.

“It’s a feel-good thought, but I don’t think it ever works.”

“I agree,” relied McClendon. “But community leaders have been waiting a long time for a way to stand up and get some of these guns off the street. If this gets five guns, that is significant.”

McClendon said he sat down recently and spoke with two local whose houses had been shot up.

“If there is anything that could do to show them we are getting guns, then that is what I’d like to do,” said McClendon. McClendon told city council exactly what prompted him to take initiative to start a gun buy back plan.

“With the guys doing all the shooting, hopefully their parents will step up,” said McClendon. “Before I went to chief Oakes about this, I had a mother to call me to say that, ‘I know my son has a gun and I got one, but I don’t want to help prosecute my son.’ The chief said there already is a process to turn in a gun. So this is to mold this into the process the police already have.”

“If a mother finds a gun, this is a way to give it up,” said Councilor Willis Mondy. “This is a good thing here.”

“I don’t think this is a solution to the violence, but it starts the conversation,” said Councilor Ramona Taylor. “I think this needs to through the police commission to get the details clarified and worked out.”

Mayor Bill Johnson expressed concerns that the legislation had no boundaries set. He also advised McClendon to run it through the budget committee to iron out specifics.

“My concern is I see nowhere where it went before the budget committee, and I see no (spending) cap on it,” said Johnson. “Are we going to be buying guns from Marion and Memphis? It doesn’t say anything about where these are coming from. Is it just West Memphis? Because it doesn’t say that.”

The gun buy-back was presented in both the police and budget regular committee meetings last week and failed to get a recommendation to move it forward, sending McClendon back to the drawing board to define the scope of the plan.

By John Rech