Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed introduced a resolution this morning that would make gun buyback programs legal in the City of St. Louis.
Under legislation enacted by the State of Missouri in 2013, gun buyback programs are not currently legal in the city. The Missouri statute RS Mo. 571.067 relating to gun buybacks, revised last year, now requires a county or municipality to pass specific legislation enabling gun buyback programs with stipulations as to how guns are disposed. Specifically, guns must be sold or traded to licensed arms dealers wherever possible and destroyed only as a last resort.
Reed said that all options for reducing gun violence and homicides in the city should be on the table.
“The City of St. Louis is caught in a vicious cycle of poverty and violence that tears apart lives on an alarmingly frequent basis. Guns play an out-sized role,” he said. “Yet there is an unfortunate disconnect between needs of city residents, in both St. Louis and Kansas City, on the one hand and priorities of out-state legislators in Jefferson City on the other. We must look out for the well-being of our children before the livelihoods of gun dealers.”
The City of St. Louis held its first gun buyback in 1991 following the tragic death of nine-year-old Christopher Harris, an innocent victim who was used as a human shield in a drug deal gone awry. The buyback resulted in the removal of nearly 7,500 weapons. Following the event, a bronze cast statue was erected in Christopher’s honor just outside SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center on South Grand Boulevard.
Reed said that buybacks can result in a significant decrease in suicides, assaults, and homicides and connect the population at large with the looming issue of gun violence.