“Sherlock Holmes” on CBS Elementary explains that gun buyback programs “reduce the number of firearm fatalities everywhere they have been attempted.” In fact, the opposite is true.
Here is a quote from the National Academies of Sciences report “Firearms and Violence” (pp. 95-6, emphasis added): “The theory on which gun buy-back programs is based is flawed in three respects. First, the guns that are typically surrendered in gun buy-backs are those that are least likely to be used in criminal activities. . . . Second, because replacement guns are relatively easily obtained, the actual decline in the number of guns on the street may be smaller than the number of guns that are turned in. Third, the likelihood that any particular gun will be used in a crime in a given year is low. . . .
In light of the weakness in the theory underlying gun buy-backs, it is not surprising that research evaluations of U.S. efforts have consistently failed to document any link between such programs and reductions in gun violence.”
The single case where people say that it worked is Australia, but that is a result of a misinterpreting their statistics.
Season 6, Episode 18, August 27, 2018
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John,
Hello from Wyoming.
Cathy and I were watching the show, sometimes our favorite because of the occasional use of logic and deductive reasoning. When that closing bit came on we both perked up, noting its Illogical (and false) statement. It was a totally out of character thing for the show to incorporate. One can only guess at the motivation. Someone somewhere thinks “Guns are Evil”. The show Elementary constantly deals with evil people (or at least devious people) who pray on society in various ways. I have yet to see an “Evil” firearm.
I will save this video clip to my anti-gun files.
John,
Update on this and my previous comment. The link for the Elementary episode at Is broken. It displays a message “Sorry, this video is currently unavailable. Please refresh your page or try again later. Need additional help? Check out our trouble shooting tips here.” That link is
That seems to be the case with all the CBS Elementary videos on line.
Curious.
Well, it works for me. Anyway, it takes you to the CBS website, so you can find it from there. Thanks.