Ariz. Lawmaker Holds Gun Buyback to Add to His Own Collection
Competes with progressive rival
Two years to the day after Jared Lee Loughner killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in Tucson, Ariz., people interested in ditching their guns could take their pick between two buybacks in town.
At one event, held by Tucson City Council member Steve Kozachik at a Tucson police station, members of the public could turn in a gun in exchange for a $50 Safeway gift card, while supplies lasted.
Kozachik chose the Tucson massacre anniversary for the buyback to keep the conversation about gun violence alive in the community, after the more recent Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo., shootings.
At the other event a stone's throw away, outgoing state Sen. Frank Antenori (R), who has reportedly butted heads with Kozachick for some time, decided to hold his own buyback, posting up near the city event and offering cash for guns to boost his own collection.