Skip to main content
Donate

Footage of the L.A. County Gift Card/Gun Exchange

By Kevin Ferguson
December 24, 2008
Support Provided By
guns

You've probably heard by now about the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept brilliantly benevolent program to give gift cards in exchange for guns in cities like Compton and Lennox. In case you haven't, I'll let the Times give you the background:

The mean streets of L.A. might get a bit kinder under a police program that offers a little holiday spending spree for residents who turn in guns.The Los Angeles County sheriff's station in Compton, in conjunction with the city of Compton, and other local organizations are hosting a firearm surrender program called "Gifts for Guns." The unique program provides an opportunity for local families to surrender firearms anonymously at the sheriff's station in exchange for a $100 holiday gift card to Ralph's, Target or Best Buy. For assault weapons, $200 gift cards are being offered. No questions are asked of those who participate.

Here's the video, but a few warnings:
1) This is probably NSFW. Sorry.
2) It's shaky, and it's a video of a video, I know. Sorry again.
3) Finally, after the 1:30 mark the video changes into some rant on 9/11 and Waco or something. Please ignore it. If I could find any other video of this I would.

The footage above looks like it was recorded with a video camera on a computer, I don't now why, but it explains the grainy/shakiness. The gifts for gun exchange is a yearly thing, but apparently this one is wildly successful—hopefully making make our streets a little safer. That might be a little bit of good news: that despite all of the economic trouble we're in, the individual's need for butter will always trump their want for guns.Photo provided by Flickr user Barjack and used under a Creative Commons License

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
By Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
By Emma Foehringer Merchant, Inside Climate News
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.
By Marisa Kendall, CalMatters