Like most I have heard the news of the Seattle gun buyback. I heard about the collectors who gathered to offer more money than the police. I heard about Amazon.com donating $30,000 to help separate the citizens of Seattle from their second amendment rights. I even heard about a rocket launcher turning up. In the end I am a firm believer in state rights and if the state of Washington wants to allow this then it is for the most part, fine with me.
But, like anyone with an open-mind, I don’t buy into everything I read, so I decided to do a little research. I believe that you can learn more about looking into individual cases than simply looking at numbers. But let’s start with the numbers:
“Seattle had 27 homicides last year, relatively low for a city its size – but 23 of them were in the first five months, including the fatal shooting of four people at Cafe Racer and another in a carjacking by Ian Stawicki on May 30.” -Source: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Amazon-incentive-in-Seattle-gun-buyback-program-186051842.html
First and foremost, the people of Seattle should consider themselves lucky. I can not fault them for wanting to protect their citizens but a lot of people would love to live in a city with a fairly low murder rate, like Seattle. With that said, I was able to find stories on 26 of the 27 murder victims in 2012 and rather than assuming that guns are the problem, I want to look at each crime individually and see if we can get to the facts and maybe even see if we find common denominators.
1. Ashton Reyes was shot at a Subway during an apparent marijuana buy. She was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend. Are drug dealers likely to take part in a gun buyback? I don’t think so.
2. Tirone Jermaine Finkley’s shooter claims that he shot this man in self-defense during a drug sale. Again, if drugs were an issue in this crime we must ask ourselves…Are drug dealers likely to participate in a gun buyback? Again I have my doubts.
3. Darek Darewski is a victim of an unsolved crime. He had served a day in jail two weeks prior for a harassment incident. I can not fairly draw any conclusions on this murder.
4. Michael Travis Hood was killed late on a Saturday Night outside of a bar, by a previously convicted felon. Do you think that felons who are already not allowed to own guns, are going to turn them in at a buyback?
5. Gregory Wayne Anderson, Jr. was a Navy Officer who was killed outside of a Nightclub. You will soon start to see a trend here so watch for it.
6. Desmond Jackson was shot outside of a Nightclub.
7. Precious Reed, Jr. was shot in an apparent drug deal.
8/9. George Hendricks, Jr and Lucky Dozier shot and killed each other outside of a local restaurant. I think the question here is pretty simple. If these two men were both so violent as to fire on each other over some unknown disagreement, are these the type of men who would participate in a gun buyback program? Am I stretching it? Oh, I forgot to mention that they were both convicted felons and known gang members.
10. Alpha Rake Lajai was a homeless man who was shot in the park. I can’t draw any real conclusions from this.
11. Greggette Guy was not killed with a gun.
12. Zerabruk Habemariam was not killed with a gun.
13. Nicole Westbrook was hit by a stray bullet in a drive-by shooting. Gangs are notorious for drive-by shootings. Would a voluntary gun buyback normally attract many gang members? I doubt it. A gang member turning in his/her gun at such a buyback would probably be marked by fellow members.
14. Courtney Taylor was shot during a scuffle at a Jack in the Box. Courtney had a criminal history according to sources, and I hate to use that against him, but he was apparently not a law abiding citizen at all points during his life. I can not say what the crimes were because the source does not say, but it does make one wonder. We can not make an honest judgement on this other than… Anyone who carries a gun to Jack in the Box is probably not going to participate in a buy back program. I think that is a fair statement.
15. Justin Ferrari was killed by a stray bullet while in his car when a gunfight erupted between two parties. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Do you think those two parties would voluntarily sell back their guns?
16. Son Hai Le was shot during a home intrusion. The home just happened to also contain lots of marijuana.
17.-21. Four people are killed at a nightclub. One is killed in a car-jacking a half hour later by the same gunman, who drives off only to kill himself later. These are the types of crimes that have spurred national debate once again, but do you really think someone mentally ill enough to incite random violence is going to be showing up to sell their guns to Seattle police?
22. Sherry Soh was gunned down outside a party in the early morning hours. Please notice that she was not at a Nightclub but I think the similarities should be noted. Alcohol and late night partying…
23. Yandy Noll was an apparent victim of road rage.
24. Henry Frankie Lee, Sr. was shot and killed by police at his own home. Apparently he dialed 911 to report a prowler but refused to reliquish his weapon when police arrived. The man suffered from dementia.
25. Jamie J. Turner was shot to death in the driver’s seat of a car that was parked on the side of the road. But it should be noted that calls to police about gun shots came at 4AM. I am not saying that there are not legitimate reasons to sit in your car at 4AM but I also know that there are also many illegitimate reasons.
26. Faustino Cervantes was not killed with a gun.
Source for all 26 Murders: http://seattletimes.com/html/localpages/2018335620_victims-of-violence-seattle.html
OK now we have the opportunity to look at the killings on a case by case basis. We are obviously not looking at police reports but we are looking at the facts are available to us.
How many of these crimes do you really think could have been prevented by law-abiding citizens turning in their guns? There are some disturbing trends on this list of homicides.
The vast majority of gun homicides were related to former felons, gangs, drugs, and unexplained violence happening into the wee hours of the morning.
It is my belief that these gun buybacks are a way to calm public fears but literally solve nothing. When you dig a little deeper you will find that we are not talking about church going ladies being gunned down in broad daylight. We actually had zero homicides of children in Seattle for 2012.
I am not saying these things don’t happen, but they are not prevalent in the majority of cases in Seattle or nationally.
If you look closely at the cases, rather than just swallowing the numbers that some want you to ingest, it is apparent to me that a more prudent approach for reducing gun violence might be to simply put a curfew on the city of Seattle. Let’s not let anyone out of their homes after 10PM. If they disobey then it is their disobedience to the law that ended up getting them killed. Or maybe we should close all night clubs. After all, 7 of 26 murders happened on the premises of a Nightclub.
Do you think that’s silly? Maybe it is but it sure has a better chance of succeeding than buying guns from responsible gun owners. Known and would be felons are not the type to line up to sell their weapons to the police. Do I have statistics on that? Nope, but I believe it’s common sense.
I think too many people are busy trying to fix something that can not be easily fixed. If I participate in drug deals, associate with former felons, hang out in bars until the wee hours of the morning, or simply hang out in the wrong part of town the chances of me being a victim are vastly increased. None of these people deserved to die, but I think if the people of Seattle really want to fix this problem then gun buybacks are not enough. You have to look at how, where, and when these killings are taking place. Then look at real solutions instead of cosmetic solutions that seem to be about nothing more than politics.
I am not really endorsing the closing of all Nightlife in Seattle, but I would argue until I was blue in the face that it had a better chance of success than the happenings of the January 26th gun buyback.
Evil exists. Bad people do bad things. Murderers will always find ways to kill. Accept that the world is not perfect and stop trying to punish the people who live by the letter of the law.
That’s my opinion. I’d love to hear yours.
The D.C. Clothesline 
Dean,
My fiancé and I travelled to Washington around August of last year and while we spent most of our time in Everette, we did get a chance to go out and experience Seattle. It is a very nice area, very clean, many professionals working there. It’s drastically different from what I am used to here in Los Angeles, and it is also still a very ‘free’ place. So with all of that in mind, I do wonder why they would hold a gun buy-back in Seattle, when Tacoma, and Spokane or rumored to have a much higher crime rate.
There is a self proclaimed superhero that goes by the alias “Phoenix Jones” who battles crime, many of his encounters are around night clubs, mostly drunken people, but he was witness to the murder of the young lady “Nicole Westbrook” – You can see the footage here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3HhLyG_RDY
I am curious, what do you think of these masked crime fighting individuals?
Oh my I don’t know where to start. I just watched the video. I suppose these individuals have their hearts in the right place and maybe that’s all I should say. They are trying to help obviously. I’m just not sure what purpose a mask serves. If you want to be a citizen activist then more power too you, so why try to portray yourself as a looney tune? I should shut up now because they truly are trying to help and that’s more than most do.
of course you post while I’m typing…=P
As far as the “looney toon” portrayal, I would think it is as much of a psychological battle as much as a defense against your true identity. An alter-ego, if you will. Think back on the movie “Fight Club.” Most demoralizing thing you can do to a guy is laugh at him. Sometimes acting crazy or absurd can prevent a fight much more effectively than a good ol’ fashioned ass-whuppin’ (pardon the language).
that’s my thought, at least.
Excellent point.
That is very interesting, TL…I didn’t think there were any *actual* masked crime fighters out there…
I can’t speak for Dean, but I wouldn’t mind weighing my opinion…I think having someone like that, while very risky, is a good thing in a way. Being where law enforcement can’t be, saving innocents and helping keep the peace…most of what made Batman so effective is that he could show up anywhere, at any time. Same thing with Spiderman (if you watched The Amazing Spiderman movie with Andrew Garfield) or countless other masked avengers. Granted, they could make a situation worse, but if I see some guy trying to mug an older man, rape an innocent young woman, or even just a fight break out outside of a bar I’m gonna assess the situation and step in to keep people from getting unnecessarily hurt. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time. That used to be the right thing to do, back in a day of morals and personal accountability; you don’t hit a woman, and you don’t bring a knife to a gunfight. I see this guy “Phoenix Jones” as someone who is standing up for what he believes, and if he is willing to take that risk not only of himself, but those he is trying to help on himself, good for him! I would hope that he knows what is too much and should be left to the proper authorities, but sometimes the cops can’t get there in time.
Thanks for that tidbit of info and insight, TL, and for “broadening my mind,” as it were =) I would like Dean’s opinion also, since he seems to have a good head on his shoulders.
It turns out your opinion was much more insightful and interesting than mine. Thanks for sharing it my friend. I would hope you keep coming back to share with us. That’s how we all grow. We are all in this together.
Dean, you and I apparently differ when it comes to who might be turning in guns at gun buy backs. Here in L.A. as in many other places the gun buy backs are (no questions asked) in other words no one is going to check to see if you legally own the gun you are turning in or if the gun was used in a crime. Therefore, to me I feel that quite a few criminals would be turning in guns at the buy backs. Criminals that steal guns, now have a new buyer, ( The Law) and they wont asked where they got it. So, steal guns. turn them in to get money, then steal more guns and turn them in. Or when a person commits a crime with a gun, all they have to do is turn it in at a gun buy back, (no questions asked) evidence destroyed without ever finding out that it was evidence in the first place. In Seattle the police said they would check to see if the guns they purchased were stolen and try to get them back to the original owners. Which clearly shows that they know they may be buying guns from thieves (no questions asked) then find out they were stolen and return them to their owners. So to me quite a few of the people that you feel would not be turning in guns at buy backs are exactly the type of people that are turning them in.Gun buy backs to no good at all toward gun control or gun safety or having less guns on the street. They just make it easy for criminals to get rid of guns they don’t want. Just my opinion. By the way, as far as what I have seen you post prior to this, there isn’t much we differ on.
Jack makes a great point. Gun buy backs should be considered aiding and abetting.
I have thought about that too. Who would sell a gun they paid $350 for to the police for $100? It could be that criminals are selling stolen guns back to the police. I tend to think there are other things at play too. Some people are probably desperate for money… Some people are probably getting rid of excess junk, etc. You make some excellent points which I can’t refute. Thank you for your opinions my friend. My favorite thing to do after I write is sit down and actually read what others have to say. That’s how I learn and grow as a person.
24. Henry Frankie Lee, Sr. was shot and killed by police at his own home. Apparently he dialed 911 to report a prowler but refused to reliquish his weapon when police arrived. The man suffered from dementia.
Wow This one pissed me off i mean pissed me off big time! no doubt the fact that he was a victim of a mental illness which may or may not have impaired his judgement is in my opinion irrelevant. In the same position i would not have relinquished my weapon in my own home while under a possible threat!
Mr. Lee (77 years old) is reported to have called 911 thru his medical alert system. The police said he came to his front door with a gun and was given the order to put the gun down several times. It was around 11pm at night. The police easily had good cover to move back. They were behind the front fence and trellis out at the road. All they had to do was move back. The cops shot numerous times and killed Mr. Lee. Since June 30, 2012 at least 6 people have died at the hands of law enforcement in Washington state
http://www.seattleactivism.org/events/event7417.htm
wow good job police unnecessarily killed a scared old man in his home while under no personal threat! killing those who ask for help~!
I propose any cop who shoots and kills anyone who didnt place him or her under imminent and serious injury should attend life appreciation classes and understand the effect their actions have!
I for one would be in prison for ten years AT LEAST for killing someone who was carrying a legal tool of defense. who did not place me in critical danger. But take some classes put on a badge and get paid by the government and its amazing what your suddenly allowed to do!
and yes government im sure you’ll keep a record of this and me having to sign in (WHY COULDNT I HAVE ANONYMOUSLY POSTED JUST MAKING IT EASIER AND EASIER FOR THE GOVN’T TO KEEP TABS ON ALL OF US) our freedoms, liberties, life, and PRIVACY is and has been attacked by The US government more than any terrorist group could ever hope to do!
CHANGE IS IMMINENT!
7 MURDERS happened outside of nightclubs so you suggest close nightclubs? well six murders were directly contributed to police officers 2 of which after they had been detained were killed by electrocution using tazers.
“Condemned prisoners must not be tortured to death, regardless of their crimes,” Judge William Connolly wrote in the opinion for the high court. Chief Justice Mike Heavican, who filed a dissent, was the only one of the seven judges to disagree that electrocution is cruel and unusual.
I carry mine all over including to Jack in the Box.
No better time to commit an armed robbery than when your victim is trapped between two cars in a drive-thru, not expecting what’s coming.