San Mateo County Sheriff's Sgt. Pronske, back right, hands a rifle to San Mateo County Sheriff's Reserve Deputy Simmonds that was turned in at a gun buy back initiated by the Citizens for a San Mateo County Gun Buyback in Redwood City, California, on Saturday, May 5, 2018. (LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group)
LIVERMORE — Livermore has become the latest East Bay city to approve a “no questions asked” gun buyback, where people will be offered $100 gift cards in exchange for surrendered weapons.
The pilot program was authorized by Livermore City Council last week following a presentation by Police Chief Jeramy Young and Police Capt. Jason Boberg.
“Several other agencies in the Bay Area have done these programs and been very successful,” Young said. Such programs include a recent collection of more than 550 firearms by Marin County law enforcement agencies and the turning in of more than 400 firearms in Santa Clara County in May.
In August, Pittsburg City Council approved a $100,000 expenditure for its third buyback eent.
“We think this is important,” Young said at Tuesday’s meeting. “If someone doesn’t want to be a responsible firearm owner, we’d like them to bring the firearm to us so that we can ensure that it’s not given to the wrong hands.”
The Livermore Police Department will partner with faith-based organizations and nonprofit groups for the event, to be held in late October, and will have a target budget of $10,000.
The police proposed that the buyback be a “no questions asked” event, where there will be no requirement for participants to show identification or prove residency.
City personnel will collect, safely store and dispose of any surrendered weapons, which can include both operable and inoperable firearms, as well as ammunition and magazines.
Payments will be made in the form of grocery store gift cards and will range from $100 to $200, depending on weapon capacity. A limit of three payments per participant will be enforced, Boberg said, so that police don’t “have one person showing up with a large cache of weapons and trading it in for the bulk majority of available gift cards.”
The initiative was welcomed by those present at the meeting. “If someone is in need of cash and has a gun, giving them a legal way to sell quickly just makes good sense,” said resident Alan Marling.
“An advertised buyback program will make our homes, public spaces and schools safer,” he added.
Council members are hopeful for a large turnout at the event, which will decide if the program will be extended. “I really appreciate this being a way to do something that I think the community as a whole can agree on, whatever the feelings on guns,” said Councilmember Trish Munro.
“If you have a gun you don’t want to use anymore, let us help you get rid of it.”
Originally published at Martha Brennan