Bay Area law enforcement groups are working to get guns off the streets through gun buyback programs — events where people can anonymously turn in guns for cash.
On Saturday in South San Francisco, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement agencies hosted the county's fifth gun buyback event, looking to expand on the collection of nearly 1,700 firearms from previous events going back to 2018.
Saturday's event saw a total of 392 firearms collected, including seven assault weapons and 12 "ghost guns," the latter of which are untraceable. Once collected, all the weapons are melted down and disposed of.
As the nation mourns another round of mass shootings, hundreds of people showed up for the event and had various reasons for wanting to turn in their guns. Recent mass shootings in Oklahoma, New York and Texas have prompted citizens and politicians alike to renew their focus on gun control measures and violence prevention. According to the nonprofit organization Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 233 mass shootings in 2022.
Mark Giacomini inherited an old hunting rifle from his grandfather and decided he wanted to get rid of the gun after he saw the news about the event.
“There could be an accident at home,” said Giacomini in the North County Courthouse parking lot in San Mateo. “One of my children could get access to it or something like that. I felt it was best and I don’t really hunt anymore, so it’s made sense to get rid of it.”
Wayne Clemons inherited two old rifles from his father-in-law when he and his wife moved into their home years ago. He decided to turn them in after there was a shooting in a park near his home last year in East Palo Alto.
"Whoever did the shooting didn't care about the kids out here and killed somebody," said Clemons. "I was watching the news this morning and I said, man, I got two [guns] back here. Might as well get rid of them. I don't use them."
According to San Mateo County Sheriff Carlos Bolanos, people can be paid $100 to $200 depending on the type of gun. He says sometimes guns can be hard to let go of, but people are now extra aware of how dangerous they can be, and many people could use the extra money.
"The purpose of the gun buyback program is to make the County of San Mateo safer for those who live and work here," said Bolanos. "Many households in the county have unwanted, unused and unsecured guns. The purpose of the gun buyback is to get rid of guns, no questions asked. We are providing a place for people to come and dispose of them and get some money in return. We feel this will improve public safety in our county."
The event included the South San Francisco and San Bruno police departments as well as the Citizens for a San Mateo County Gun Buyback. There was also a gun buyback event in Marin County on Saturday.
"We were very fortunate that this past year, the Board of Supervisors in San Mateo County were able to allocate a significant part of some Measure K funding to support these [events] through 2023," said Al Comolli, a member of Citizens for a San Mateo County Gun Buyback. "We've had a great response."
Citizens for a San Mateo County Gun Buyback was formed in 2018 right after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, to minimize the risk of gun-related suicides and gun violence in the county. The five-member group contacted Sheriff Bolanos about creating a buyback program and began raising money in different cities to distribute at the events.
Additional gun buyback events are planned for later this year.
This post includes reporting from KQED's Annelise Finney, The Associated Press and Bay City News.
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