Gun owners in Contra Costa County can exchange their weapons for gift cards in a countywide buyback program Saturday.
Gun owners in Contra Costa County can exchange their weapons for gift cards in a countywide gun buyback program.
As part of the buyback offer sponsored by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, any resident of the county on Saturday can go to one of three locations and turn over their guns with “no questions asked.”
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In exchange for an operable weapon, gun owners will be given a gift card of up to $200 for an assault weapon, a gift card of up to $100 for a handgun and a gift card of up to $50 for a shotgun or rifle.
Officials say people turning in their guns will have to show identification to prove they are residents of Contra Costa County, but the police officers taking in the guns will not run any warrant checks.
The serial numbers of the guns will checked to make sure they are not stolen. Any stolen guns will be returned to their owners, while the other guns turned in will be destroyed.
When he announced the buyback program, Contra Costa County District Attorney Mark Peterson said:
“It is my belief that this gun buyback will prevent crime and possibly save lives. Many crimes are committed with handguns that are stolen in home burglaries, and many accidental discharge incidents occur in homes where unwanted guns are stored.”
Saturday’s buyback comes ahead of a similar offer set for next Thursday in San Francisco’s Mission District, and follows a series of buyback programs throughout the Bay Area in recent months.
One gun buyback in Santa Clara County collected 1,116 guns, and one in Marin County netted 856 guns.
A similar offer in San Mateo County in January took in 680 guns, while a buyback in San Francisco and Oakland in December — which happened to take place the day after 20 children and six adults were shot to death in a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school — collected a combined 590 guns.
This Saturday’s Contra Costa County buyback is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the following locations:
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