Beyoncé performs during the half-time show of the 2013 Super Bowl. (Jeff Haynes/Reuters)
Got a gun? Hand it in, and you could end up with a ticket to Beyoncé's Mrs. Carter tour.
At least, that's the dream of music manager Michael "Blue" Williams, the head of Family Tree Entertainment. The idea is part of his proposal for what the New York Daily News says would be the "first private-sector gun buyback program."
Called Guns for Greatness, Williams' proposal, made to the New York City Police Department, would offer music industry mentorship and concert tickets in exchange for firearms. Of course, if the department rubber-stamps the program, Williams, who has managed Outkast and Cee Lo Green, among others, still has to get the wildly popular singer to sign on to the idea.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told the Daily News that Williams' plan needs to be studied. He said, “We want to get as many guns off the streets, and if this works, we’d like to support it.”
The hip-hop mogul has raised $75,000 toward his $100,000 fundraising goal. Richard Buery, CEO and president of the Children’s Aid Society, has added his name to the proposal.
In a letter to the NYPD and shown to the Daily News, Williams writes, “A disturbingly high number of these [gun] victims are young people. As Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and others have noted strongly, the issue of gun violence is an urgent crisis that requires immediate attention.”
The NYPD currently has a program that offers cash for guns, no questions asked.