New York should be applauded for being a national leader in preventing gun violence. Fewer guns on the street mean fewer tragic and senseless deaths as the state works towards making a real difference in the fight against gun crime. The gun buyback initiative will pay dividends down the road, as fewer guns are at risk of falling into the wrong hands.
Anti-gun politicians love their gun buy-back events because it gives them a chance to mesmerize the public through photos of scary-looking weapons laid out on a table. In reality, however, the US' own National Bureau of Economic Research has found that these programs don't broadly reduce gun crime or violent crime. Moreover, these ineffective programs, if implemented nationwide, would cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars or more — all that expense for no benefit to public safety.