Drop Gun Pickup Tomorrow

Monday morning at ERPS, you can resupply your trunk with drop guns, replicas and BB guns just in time for the summer rush. Where do they all come from?

• Of the 4,050 firearms traded in for gift cards, there were 55 assault weapons and 3,335 handguns, along with 660 replicas, according to the Office of Police News Affairs.

  During the first half hour of the gun buyback program this morning, more than a thousand weapons were turned in, officials said. The department offered up to $100 for weapons handed over.

  In announcing the early results and encouraging others to take part in the day-long event, Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis announced that 1,335 guns were turned in during the first half hour, including what looked like two hand grenades.

  "What are we doing with hand grenades in Chicago?" Weis asked, incredulous.

These were inert, as your own Bomb and Arson people mentioned an hour later. But in case you were unaware, grenades have been used in Chicago gang wars for over a century now. In fact, within the last decade or so, gang bangers have been know to refill the inert practice grenades and arm them for use in drive-by bombings. Unfortunately, none of them were ordinance experts and they failed to put in the time delayed fuses. We've run across at least two of these brainiacs and their missing hands. Always a fun time.

In any event, we certainly encourage everyone who turned in a gun to take their gift card and start looking for a decent home defense weapon. June is just around the corner along with a Supreme Court decision that should allow you to keep guns in the city.