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Reporter: Craig Smith

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Tucson Councilmember Steve Kozachik's gun buy back plan has stirred up a storm; and now people who think it's a bad idea have an idea they like better.
      
Instead of taking unwanted guns out of circulation, they want to take them home with them.
   
The buyback plan is designed to collect unwanted guns, and destroy them. 
    
Now some gun rights activists say, hey, maybe we want the guns you don't want, so we'll beat the city's offer of a 50 dollar gift card.

After the Connecticut school shootings, several cities set up buyback programs, where they offer cash or gift cards to people who turn in unwanted firearms for police to destroy.
     
In Tucson, Councilman Kozachik's plan for a buyback is getting pushback from gun rights activists.
     
Friday on 104.1 The Truth, Jon Justice hosted State Senator Frank Antenori.  He says he'll be at the buyback but not to turn in a gun.

Antenori says, "I'm gonna stand out front with a little sign that says, hey, I'll pay cash for your gun and I'll give you a fair price for it and why turn it in for 50 bucks when maybe you can get 75, 100, 150 dollars for it."
       
Antenori says he expects others like him to make similar offers---not for every gun, but for weapons that interest them.
        
Jon Justice, who we should point out, works for the company that owns KGUN9, sees the buyback as a a stunt that does nothing to improve safety.

He says, "Personally I think it's going to be more like a cash for clunker gun program than it is going to be---these aren't guns being used by the criminal element.  This isn't taking guns out of the hands of people that would do bad things with them."
          
Kozachik says if people want to try to outbid the buyback program, he won't interfere.

KGUN9 reporter Craig Smith asked Kozachik: "What sort of atmosphere do you think is going to prevail at this thing on Tuesday?"

Kozachik: "The majority of people who show up will be serious about the event and will be serious about wanting to simply make their homes a safer place by getting rid of guns they no longer feel comfortable having in their homes.  Those on the periphery will continue to marginalize themselves as serious contributors to this community."

The NRA tells us it doesn't think buybacks accomplish much but it does not object to the buyback. It does plan to invoke a state law that it says forbids police from destroying the guns they collect.
      
Tucson's city attorney says he looked at the law and decides it does not stand in the way of collecting and destroying the guns.