Are 'buybacks' exploited to pad 'crime gun' statistics?

Nearly every gun "buyback" of which I am aware (and certainly all of the really big ones, like those listed above) are administered and run by the police, meaning--you guessed it--every gun surrendered for a gift card, or whatever the inducement of the day--goes into "police custody." Instant "crime gun"--no crime necessary. Many "buybacks"--even those where it is promised that there will be "no questions asked" involve a check to see if the gun was used in a crime. But even a negative return on that check (which presumably includes the BATFE's "eTrace") will result in one more tally in the "crime guns" column. [More]

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