New York gun buyback program takes thousands of firearms off the street

Thousands of guns were surrendered across New York on Saturday in exchange for gift cards as part of the state’s gun buyback program.

According to the New York attorney general, Letitia James, whose office organized the event, more than 3,000 guns including various assault-style rifles and “ghost guns” were given up in what she hailed as a “landmark event”.

Individuals who surrendered assault-style rifles and “ghost guns”, which are guns built from firearm parts sold unassembled, were given $500 gift cards, ABC News reported. Participants who turned in handguns also received $500 for the first weapon and an additional $150 for each additional handgun surrendered.

In total, nine buyback locations were set up across the state, including two in New York City. At one of the buyback locations in Brooklyn, officials reported that they received 90 guns in just three hours, with the Brooklyn district attorney, Eric Gonzalez, being “especially pleased” by the amount of smaller guns that were surrendered, ABC 7 reported.

“There’s a lot of firepower on this table,” Gonzalez said as he attended the buyback program at the All Saints Church in Brooklyn on Saturday. “And each and every one of these guns is a potential life saved, and a non-fatal shooting avoided,” he added.

Meanwhile in Syracuse, 751 firearms were relinquished by residents. The vast surrender came just days after the Syracuse mayor, Ben Walsh, attributed the rising number of guns to the city’s increase in the rate of violent crime.

“There are too many damn guns in this country. They’re everywhere. And we have too many states that are abdicating their responsibility to ensure that guns are being sold safely,” Walsh said at a press conference, ABC News reported.

“And our federal government is abdicating their responsibility to ensure that guns are being handled safely,” he said, adding that Syracuse officials have so far removed 76 guns from the community this year compared with 55 guns that were removed at the same time last year. Of the guns seized, 90% hailed from out of state, said Walsh.

James echoed similar sentiments, saying: “Gun violence has caused so many avoidable tragedies and robbed us of so many innocent New Yorkers … Every gun that we removed out of Syracuse homes and off the streets is a potential tragedy averted and another step in protecting communities throughout New York state.”

In New York City, the police department has established a Cash for Guns program in which the NYPD would offer $200 to anyone who surrenders a gun. Individuals who choose to surrender their guns do not have to identify themselves nor will they be asked any questions by officials.

New York’s firearm buyback program comes as 13,839 individuals died from gun violence in the country this year as of 30 April, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Suicide accounted for 7,920 of those deaths, while 5,919 people died from homicide, murder or unintentional shootings.