Guns for the needy

In a city still reeling from a shooting rampage that killed six and severely injured a congresswoman, contrasting giveaways are being proposed for a handful of its working-class neighborhoods.

One would dole out free shotguns to poor adults. Another would hand out free school supplies to needy children.
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Shaun McClusky, a real estate agent who lives in the Tucson area, said he heard about the Armed Citizen Project and contacted the group's leader, Kyle Coplen, a post-graduate student in Houston. Coplen's initiative has raised about $13,000 to purchase shotguns that would be distributed in seven cities, perhaps more.

Recipients will have to pass a background check and will be given special training before receiving a free shotgun.

"It's about home protection," McClusky said. "If you are a single mom or dad and can't afford a shotgun, we'll give one to you."

In response, local activist Sal Baldenegro Jr. is spearheading the School Supply Giveaway campaign, and hopes to raise at least as much, if not more, money than McClusky.

"Tucson residents are working hard to make our neighborhoods safe, but free gun giveaways completely undermine this effort," Baldenegro states in a website for online donations. Handing out school supplies, he adds, "will result in a vibrant and healthy Tucson community."

Joseph Miller, Midvale Park Assn. president, said his neighborhood doesn't need "gun welfare."

"Nobody's going to want to move into a place where they're giving out free guns," he said.