Trade a gun for a rose in SC on Valentine's Day

Trade a gun for a rose in SC on Valentine's Day

The Associated Press Feb 14, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Police in South Carolina want you to have a rose for your sweetie on Valentine's Day. All you have to do is turn in a gun.

Hoping to get the weapons off the streets with the "Guns for Roses" program, authorities in two central South Carolina cities set up a program where anyone who turned in a gun received a free rose and a Best Buy gift card.


Authorities are running the "Guns for Roses" program Saturday at two locations in the central part of the state.

Anyone who turns in a gun gets a free rose and a Best Buy gift card. A handgun gets a $100 gift card, while a rifle or shotgun nets a $50 gift card.

Richland County sheriff's spokesman Lt. Chris Cowan says there has already been a great turnout at one Columbia location and deputies have seized about 75 guns in the first 90 minutes. Cowan says one man brought six handguns.

He says there is no amnesty for the gun owners. The weapons are checked to see if they are stolen and ballistics test will also be done.

Cowan said the idea was spawned in part by Columbia Police Chief T.P. Carter and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, who has made headlines recently for investigating Michael Phelps after a photo surfaced showing the Olympic swimming champion smoking a marijuana pipe. The program was modeled after a California one; similar exchanges have been done in New York and San Francisco.

Cowan said gun donors were young and old, men and woman. Many had a big smile and some said it was a relief to get rid of the weapons.

And did the men even care about the rose?

"Most of them have taken it," Cowan said.


How stupid is this? It seems crazy stupid on the surface. The premise is to get "guns off the streets". NO AMNESTY! for gun owners. How crazy is this! A legitimate "gun owner" would have no need to turn in a weapon to get it off the street. A legitimate "gun owner" owns his or her gun for protection, sporting events such as competition shooting or hunting. Only the government would think a person would "turn in a gun" for a rose. Only government IDIOTS like Columbia Police Chief T.P. Carter and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott would believe a criminal would turn in a gun for a rose for it to be checked and traced back to the criminal. IDIOTS like Carter and Lott believe there would be a need for legitimate "gun owners" to turn in their guns to "get them off the street". This is police state mentality. This is beyond STUPID! Columbia Police chief carter and Richland shefiff lott should resign for being so STUPID as to think their idea of truning in a gun for a rose will do anything to deter crime in any way. These are the type of USEFUL IDIOTS the US government will use to inforce martial law when the economy fails as the dollar becomes worthless. Cowan said, people looked relieved to get rid of weapons as if something is illegal or wrong with owning a weapon! Government wants YOU to rely on THEM for your TOTAL SAFETY hoping you will not own a gun of your own. WHY? ASK yourself this question.