The Daily News of Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES — Authorities were hoping to net about 2,000 weapons in the city’s annual gun buyback program Saturday, but the total tally of firearms that locals exchanged for gift cards won’t be available until Monday, according to officials.
The program, in its fourth year and held on Mother’s Day weekend, is aimed at cutting down on shootings by allowing people to turn in weapons — no questions asked — at six locations around the city, including Facey Medical Center in Mission Hills.
About 600 to 700 guns were surrendered citywide in just the first hour, according to LAPD Lt. Andy Neiman. Since the program started in 2009, more than 6,200 guns have been collected.
“Any time you can remove guns that are the potential tool to destroy human lives, it’s a positive thing,” Neiman said. “So rather than these guns fall into the hands of someone who would do evil with it, they’re surrendered and destroyed, and these folks get a gift card to do something nice.”
Those turning in handguns and shotguns got a $100 gift card to Ralphs grocery stores or a prepaid Visa card. Assault rifles — like an Egyptian-made AK-47 that came with a 75-round drum magazine that was turned in at Mission Hills — netted $200.
Last year, the city collected 953 handguns, 688 rifles, 330 shotguns and 91 assault weapons. An anti-tank rocket launcher was also turned in.
LAPD will check the guns to see if they were stolen in an attempt to return them to their rightful owners. Otherwise, they will be melted down into rebar.
Allowing people to turn in the guns anonymously and then destroying them have been sore points for pro-gun activist Bruce Boyer, who was trying to direct people away from the city’s buyback and toward gun shops.
“This program has a real function of criminals getting a get-out-of-jail-free card,” said Boyer, president of San Fernando-based Lone Star Security.
“It’s immunity. If even five guns were used in a murder, and five murderers don’t go to prison because the city runs this shenanigan stunt, that’s five too many.”
But getting the guns off the streets far outweighs the slim chance of a murder weapon being destroyed, Neiman said.
“It’s a risk we’re willing to take to save the lives of many others,” Neiman said. “There’s always the potential that we could destroy a gun or weapon that was used in a crime. That definitely is there. However, the benefit of destroying weapons in general is that you’re taking that potential weapon away from someone who could hurt someone else.”
The city collects an average of about 2,000 guns at the buyback each year, according to Neiman. The biggest number was collected in 2010, when more than 2,500 guns were turned in.
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