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The Sacramento Police Department held a gun buyback program over the weekend that saw an overwhelming response with the community turning in unwanted guns.
SPD hosted a “Gas for Guns Buyback” event on Saturday, providing a safe and efficient process for community members to turn in unwanted firearms to the SPD with no questions asked and no identification required.
The department said that 134 firearms were turned in by over 100 members of the community in a safe exchange for $50 gas gift cards.
Among other reasons, community members most commonly cited a lack of experience or knowledge with firearms, lack of knowledge of the legality of the firearms, or an inability to safely store the firearms as the main reasons for participating in the exchange.
“As a department we will continue to use innovative ideas to increase the safety of our community, said Chief Kathy Lester. I truly believe violent crime prevention is a shared responsibility and today’s overwhelming community participation is evidence of the success we can achieve together.”
Sacramento Buyback Program Precedes School Shooting
Sacramento’s buyback program came three days before the worst school mass shooting since Sandy Hook in 2012.
On Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas, an 18-year-old entered Robb Elementary School and barricaded himself inside a fourth grade classroom before killing 19 students and two teachers.
The teen responsible for the shooting was killed by law enforcement and later identified as Salvador Ramos.
The latest mass shooting has revived a national debate on gun reform and opened back up debate in Washington on passing gun laws.
Funny how they never seem to have these buyback programs in white communities. Based on recent events, they need disarming too.