Editorial: Gun buyback program helps make streets, homes safer
Program helps create a safer environment in the Gilroy community
Morgan Hill Police Chief Shane Palsgrove speaks at a Dec. 2 press conference to describe the gun buyback program. Photo by Marty Cheek
This editorial is the opinion of Gilroy Life
Residents of South Valley have an opportunity to turn dangerous firearms into hard cash. No questions will be asked in the Anonymous Gun Buyback event about who owns the surrendered weapons or where they came from.
Santa Clara County law enforcement offices — including the Morgan Hill Police Department and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office — have brought back the popular program to turn in unwanted guns and receive cash. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 10, at the Morgan Hill Outdoor Sports Center, 16500 Condit Road.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW DECEMBER 2 PRESS CONFERENCE ON GUN BUYBACK
Authorities are offering $100 each for handguns, rifles and shotguns. They’re giving $200 each for ghost guns and assault weapons, according to the DA’s Office. Guns will be taken in for cash first-come, first-served until the $50,000 in funds run out. The event has a limit of five firearms per person. Firearms surrendered at the buyback event must be functional. They must be given up unloaded and transported in a vehicle’s trunk. Those returning firearms must remain in their car. No ammunition is allowed.
“The buyback program is important because it helps people get rid of guns if they’re not storing them properly and they don’t want them any longer,” said Brian Sullivan, a member of the Community Law Enforcement Foundation (CLEF).
The last time the buyback program was held December 2019, the event held at the city of Gilroy’s Corporation Yard brought in a county record of 493 weapons. It was the first regional buyback in 25 years. Occasionally, the program helps remove guns off the street that were used in a crime, Sullivan said.
“It doesn’t happen very often but it does happen,” he said.
We encourage locals to participate in the buyback because it helps create a safer environment where it is more difficult for children, criminals and those with mental health concerns to access the weapons.
Too often in the news, we hear of the tragedy of a family facing the death or injury of a child who found a gun and shot themselves or another person. Removing unwanted weapons from the home helps reduce the chance of this occurring.
“An unwanted gun is just waiting for a child’s curiosity, or a criminal’s bad intentions,” DA Jeff Rosen said in a press release. “Let’s work together to make sure that every gun in this county is legal, locked and owned by a responsible person.”
Participate in the buyback program and get money for the holidays.