A private company in Tucson, Ariz., destroyed 212 guns turned in to the city during a buyback on the second anniversary of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, despite the threat of a lawsuit.
One gun, which had a scratched serial number, was kept for further investigation, Sgt. Chris Widmer, a spokesman for the Tucson Police Department, told TPM Thursday. The company that destroyed the guns wished to remain unidentified, he added.
Todd Rathner, an Arizona lobbyist and National Rifle Association board member, has threatened to sue over the city’s buyback, claiming that Arizona law requires claimed guns to be sold to licensed firearms dealers. “We do believe that it is illegal for them to destroy those guns,” he told NPR.
Widmer told TPM that the city’s attorney, Michael Rankin, reviewed the law and concluded that guns voluntarily submitted to the police don’t need to be resold.
