In San Francisco and Oakland on Saturday, citizens brought their guns to sell to the police in return for cash. Every volunteer who returned a gun was $200 richer walking away. The line was so long in San Francisco that there was no cash left after lunchtime and I.O.U.s were substituted instead.

Oakland’s citizens gave even more guns back, including assault weapons and Ak-47s; the line of people returning guns, which was comprised of those standing and those in cars, was almost two miles long. A limit of three per person was imposed.

Oakland’s police chief, Howard Jordan, said, “When we remove guns off our streets that could be used in a crime, we reduce the possibility of our youth and community being a victim.”

There’s only one problem with this scenario: in all likelihood, it’s the law-abiding citizens returning guns. The criminals are not about to surrender theirs. All reports from the scene quote people who were highly unlikely to use their firearms for criminal activity in the first place.