Photos From First Presby's Gun Buyback, and the Armed Counter-Protest it Inspired

This morning, the First Presbyterian Church hosted a gun buyback, offering cold, hard cash for unwanted firearms which will later be destroyed. The idea, as Rev. Bruce Buchanan told the Morning News, is to "make Dallas homes and families safer, one gun at a time." As far as gun-control measures...

By Eric Nicholson

January 19, 2013

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This morning, the First Presbyterian Church hosted a gun buyback, offering cold, hard cash for unwanted firearms which will later be destroyed. The idea, as Rev. Bruce Buchanan told the Morning News, is to "make Dallas homes and families safer, one gun at a time."

As far as gun-control measures go, this is about as unobjectionable as it gets -- but not so unobjectionable as to escape controversy given the current state of debate. So naturally, First Presby's event inspired a small, armed counter-protest across the street organized by Collin Baker, a local concealed handgun license instructor.

The protest, which was more of a counter-buyback, with the pro-gun crowd paying as much as twice as much as the church. ~~Presby collected 30 to 40 guns~~First Presby says it collected 112 working guns, while Baker's group auctioned off about 20, according to the Morning News.

More photos below.

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