In Lean Times, L.A. Residents Swap Guns for Food

In Lean Times, L.A. Residents Swap Guns for Food Date: Monday, December 8, 2008 Thomas Watkins Associated Press LOS ANGELES - A program to exchange guns for gifts brought in a record number of weapons this year as residents hit hard by the economy look under the bed and in closets to find items to trade for groceries. The annual Gifts for Guns program ended Sunday in Compton, a working class city south of Los Angeles that has long struggled with gun and gang ****. In a program similar to ones in New York and San Francisco, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department allows residents to anonymously relinquish firearms in return for $100 gift cards for Ralphs supermarkets, Target department stores or Best Buy electronics stores. Turning in **** rifles yields double that amount... Full story: In Lean Times, L.A. Residents Swap Guns for Food