Philly trades tickets for guns

This was on ESPN

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers and police officials Tuesday announced a program aimed at curbing gun violence by exchanging tickets for guns.

The one-week program opens Wednesday. Anyone can bring a working gun into a city police station and exchange it for a voucher good for a pair of tickets to an upcoming 76ers game, no questions asked.

"If we get one [gun], it's a successful program," said Billy King, the team's president. "If we get one, if we get a thousand, whatever we get that's going to be good enough."

Sitting at a table with 15 guns ranging from semiautomatic rifles to tiny, easily concealed handguns, Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson said the program wasn't only for illegal guns. He would be happy if law-abiding citizens turned in their firearms, too.

"Any gun that can kill needs to be taken off the streets," Johnson said.

The city's murder rate spiked last year and is on a similar pace in 2006. There were 380 homicides in the city in 2005 -- the highest total in five years. There were 44 homicides in the city from Jan. 1 through Monday, just slightly off last year's pace.

The program is similar to one the 76ers ran in 1999. "Guns for Gear" brought in close to 900 guns in just three days.

The 76ers aren't the first NBA team to run such a program. The Denver Nuggets traded tickets for guns for several years as part of the "Operation Cease Fire" program in the mid to late '90s.

Maybe Mr Telfair can ask his girlfriend to trade her one in

Good to see the Sixers organisation get involved and try to help the community out. This to me is a much better thing than what Abe Pollin did for washington, changing the name from Bullets to Wizards. Yeah I'm sure that detered violence lol.

Yeh it's cool until someone breaks into your house and you only have a season pass to defend yourself with.

Hahah! I can actually imagine a homer saying "stop in the name of sixers!" and holding up the tickets.

Lol, pair of tickets isa good defense, it is like a mini bodyarmour

u could always toss them. They might give you some nasty paper cuts

u could always toss them. They might give you some nasty paper cuts

Or cut off your fingers , lol

LOL. Give away your gun so you can agonize over another Sixers disappointment? Pffft, I'll keep my gun thank you.

I just need to get a gun now (and be in Philadelphia)

They could put those guns to another good use by threatening them if they play bad defense.

Yeh it's cool until someone breaks into your house and you only have a season pass to defend yourself with.

They could put those guns to another good use by threatening them if they play bad defense.

Mwahahaha!

Yeah but I think that's a stupid thing if they want the legal guns out. But as for illegal get them all out.

CCW (Conceal Carry Weapon) saves lots of lives.

But they could use it if they were playing bad "D".