Hand in assault weapons for tax credit

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- A Connecticut lawmaker is hoping money will be a big enough incentive to turn in assault weapons. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro's plan would give anybody who handed over an assault weapon a tax credit.

The idea comes from a gun owner, a father, a business owner, who believes in the right to bear arms, just not assault weapons so today he turned it in.

"This is something that is coming from the heart here. We want to protect our children, we want to protect our rights at the same time but a lot of this has to stop," said Joe Bango.

Bango is talking about the decision to give up his AR-15 Assault Weapon.

"I don't need it anymore," said Bango.

He bought it for 800 dollars and trained with it in between Naval Reserve drills. He hasn't used it in years but the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary school moved him to get rid of it.

"This is not to say anything negative about like I said law abiding gun owners, I'm just saying that we need to reduce the number of weapons that can cause such massive devastation," said Bango.

This father and business owner supports the right to own hand guns, but fears his AR-15 could be stolen and end up in the wrong hands.

After all Bango lives in Cheshire, where many homeowners armed themselves following the deadly home invasion where a mother and two  daughters were tortured and killed and the father was beaten but survived. 

"I think if he had a firearm in his home, it may have stopped what had happened because one of the problems with a lot of criminals is that sometimes you can give them your money, you can give them what they want but they also still want to hurt people and only if they think they're going to be hurt but that could be accomplished very well with a good hand gun," said Bango.

Bango turned in the AR-15 with cameras rolling to call attention to his idea now being championed by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, a proposal to give a two thousand dollar tax credit to anyone giving up an assault weapon.

"I hope and expect the $2,000 tax credit will encourage owners of these dangerous weapons to turn them in to state law," said DeLauro.

"I am here to ask other gun owners to please consider doing the same. I ask of you to please reflect if having such a firearm is necessary," said Bango.

The AR-15, like any gun that is turned in, is not reused but destroyed.