A gun buy-back program on Feb 23 had the goal first and foremost of getting guns off the street and out of homes where children can get hurt. A second goal: to study whether gun buy-backs are effective. Police departments from Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Menlo Park were given more than $50,000 to buy guns back from residents. The program started on Saturday.

The citizen led program was launched following the tragedy at Newtown School in Connecticut not long ago, and all funds were contributed by donors. Normally cities and counties pay for the costs of a buy-back program.

Stanford graduate students will do research to see if the effects are measurable. They will look at data from the three police departments and compare violent crime rates before and after the buy-back.

People who brought in guns yesterday were eligible to receive $100 for a handgun, $200 for a rifle or shotgun, and $300 for an assault weapon. Some left disappointed, when the police ran out of money. A discussion of gun control and a rally to end violence was held in front of Palo Alto City Hall the same day.

A publicly funded buy-back will be held by Santa Clara County on March 2.