11:20 PM, May. 28, 2011 

 

 

 

A former state senator and Waterloo service station owner is offering $5,000 worth of gas on June 11 for those who voluntarily turn in firearms.

Jim Lind, who owns and operates a Shell station on the south side of Waterloo, is sponsoring a "Gas for Guns" promotion from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Waterloo Fire Department station at Mulberry and East Third streets.

The Waterloo Police Department will be on hand to receive the guns, and Lind said "no questions will be asked."

Citizens who trade in a functioning handgun will receive a gift card worth $150. Those who trade in a functioning rifle or shotgun will get a gift card worth $100.

Lind, a Republican who represented Waterloo in the Iowa Senate from 1986 until his abrupt resignation in 1997 in a dispute over tax policy, said: "I'm not a gun control advocate. I believe in the right to bear arms. I just want to get bad guns off the street."

Lind said he got the idea after reading an article in a trade journal about a similar promotion in Baton Rouge, La., last October that yielded about 250 guns.

"They gave away about $25,000 worth of gas in Baton Rouge, but I don't have that kind of bank account," said Lind, who will donate $5,000 worth of gas gift cards at his station in return for weapons.

The event will take place for the duration of the listed times, or until the gift cards run out.

Waterloo police officers will conduct the gun exchange. All firearms, muzzleloaders, air guns, and ammunition will be accepted. However, only functioning handguns, rifles, and shotguns will be eligible for the gift card exchange.