Seattle and King County, Wa., leaders have raised $100,000 to launch a gun-buyback program, despite studies — cited by both pro- and anti-gun groups — that buyback programs are largely ineffective, reports the Seattle Times. "Bad guys don't turn in their guns," said Dave Workman, senior editor of GunMag, a publication of the Second Amendment Foundation. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said, "I want to be clear. This is just one tool in the toolbox. This isn't going to solve our problems."

The mayor said that if the program averted one gun tragedy, it was worthwhile. That's a reversal from last week, when the mayor said gun-buyback programs were a little like "trying to bail out the ocean with a leaky bucket. I'd feel a lot better if we had some control at the front end." Seattle-area leaders who announced the gun-buyback program said they wanted to do something immediate and concrete to get guns off the street. A recent gun buyback in Los Angeles brought in more than 2,000 weapons, including 75 assault weapons.