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From Yahoo
Tuesday November 9 8:29 AM ET
City Runs Out of Cash in Gun Buyback
ATLANTA (Reuters) - Atlanta's campaign to cut gun crime by buying firearms from its citizens drew so many eager sellers that the city ran out of cash and had to issue IOUs, a city spokeswoman said on Monday.
Crowds lined up at City Hall on Saturday, the first day of the program, to deliver assault rifles, shotguns and handguns to Atlanta police. In just four hours, the city bought 520 weapons at $50 each.
``We had an unexpected amount of people lining up even before the program started, so we ended up having to hand out IOUs,'' said Bonni Ware, community affairs manager for the mayor's office.
Atlanta had set aside $10,000 for the program, predicting 200 people
would show up. But Saturday's unexpected turnout forced organizers to rush
to private donors to ask for nearly $16,000 more to pay gun owners who
tendered their weapons.
No papers were signed and no questions were asked, Ware said. Those
who received IOUs can redeem them on Tuesday under the same conditions.
The guns will be melted down and destroyed this week, Ware said.
Atlanta's initiative was modeled after a successful campaigns in 17
cities in the United States, including Washington, in which more
than 3,000 guns were bought and destroyed.
Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, a staunch anti-gun advocate, has joined
dozens of other U.S. mayors in suing gun manufacturers to recoup
city costs for investigating gun-related crimes and treating gunshot injuries.