This past weekend the President announced that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would contribute $100,000 towards a $350,000 fund to be used by the District of Columbia Police Department to “buy back” handguns in the District for $50 a piece.

As with other “buy back” programs, this is just more feel-good nonsense. The last program that the D.C. police ran a couple of years ago offered $100 per gun and netted mostly cheap revolvers from elderly residents — none of which was traced back to any crimes.

The gang-bangers, pimps, and druggies who are responsible for much of the carnage in America’s “inner cities” have enough knowledge of economics to realize that any High Point, Davis, Jennings, or Raven is worth a lot more than a lousy $50 (especially if it functions reliably). Any decent “nine” (as they are called by the disadvantaged) is worth AT LEAST five bills, and usually a lot more.

The President and the D.C. Police Chief are also oblivious to the harsh reality that firepower is an absolute necessity for gangs to maintain order (as they see it) in government run housing and protect their market share of illegal drugs.