NEW YORK (PIX11) -- There is a new concern about guns that are supposed to be destroyed as part of gun buyback programs effectively ending up back on the streets.
New York City has a robust gun buyback program- perhaps the biggest in the country.
So, Congressman Dan Goldman of Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn is seeking to confirm New York City guns are being properly destroyed.
The cause for concern comes because of a growing industry where companies, including a popular one known as "Gunbusters" offer to destroy buyback guns for free. But they are not exactly destroying everything.
"What they do is they just remove the one part that is serialized and make it actually a weapon and then they'll re-package all the other parts and sell them online," Goldman said.
PIX11 News easily found the listings online for parts packages. Parts are not well regulated in the US, and these companies say it is how they make money, though some clients do pay extra to destroy everything.
"People have compared our services to an automobile scrapyard, where they are able to obtain parts needed for repairs," Scott Reed, of Gunbusters told PIX11 News partner KTVI in St. Louis.
In practical terms, Goldman said the part kits become the basis for untraceable ghost guns-- putting untraceable weapons back on the street.
"These buyback programs are designed to get guns off the street and if it's not doing nothing, it is a waste of money and pointless," Goldman said.
Goldman is writing a letter to the Mayor's Office to make sure New York City is melting down the entire weapon.
A City Hall spokesperson confirms officers personally oversees the complete destruction of firearms by a private contractor.
"Mayor Adams takes the deadly menace of ghost guns very seriously and we are grateful to Representative Goldman for raising these important concerns," she said. "Rest assured, that anytime the NYPD destroys firearms in their possession they are melted and shredded in the presence of multiple officers.”
PIX11 News also checked with state law enforcement sources. The New York State Police, who work with many smaller communities, also destroy the weapon.
Goldman said New York authorities may very well could be the case, he just wants details.
He is also writing to the ATF asking it to change its gun buyback guidance to require complete destruction-- to prevent more untraceable guns from flowing to the Tri-State.
"If we are going to do everything we can to keep guns off the streets, make our communities safe, make our kids safe, then we have to make sure the few programs designed to that do that work," Goldman said.
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