The government of Uruguay has remixed the gun buy back program.

The new program, called Weapons for Life, allows Uruguayans to receive things like bicycles and computers in exchange for turning in their guns.

Politicians in Uruguay are offering gun owners an amnesty with a twist — with those handing in their deadly firearms being given a bicycle or a laptop computer in exchange. The move, which will also see sentences for the illegal possession of guns made more severe, comes as the government revealed that one in three of its citizens were armed. The Interior Ministry said in a statement: “The campaign proposes an exchange; the citizens hand over the firearm and receives another one in exchange, (but this is) an arm for life.” According to the South American nation’s government, the country is awash with unregistered guns, reports El Observador. Spokesman Fernando Gil said: “It is these same firearms that, due to being bought or sold, can end up in the hands of criminals.” Gil added that the campaign aimed to “disarm society, on the way to a more harmonious co-existence, where differences are resolved through dialogue and negotiation.”
Read more at the New York Daily News.

 

 

What an amazing idea. Previous American gun buy back programs have just offered cash, but what if valuable, lasting items were given instead?

 

 

Is this the kind of program you would like to see in your community?

Do you want the government to support such an initiative?

If so, sign the BYP Petition requesting that President Obama address the gun violence in Chicago!