New York Attorney General Letitia James joined Rochester officials Tuesday to announce that her office has collected more than 10,000 firearms through community gun buyback events since 2019.
During the Oct. 20 gun buyback event at the Church of Love Faith Center, hosted by the Office of the Attorney General and the Rochester Police Department, 606 firearms were collected.
The firearms included:
- 57 antique guns
- 247 long guns
- 177 handguns
- 81 revolvers
- 44 assault weapons
Under the New York SAFE Act, an assault weapon is defined as a semi-automatic rifle, semi-automatic pistol or semi-automatic shotgun that possesses at least one designated military-style feature.
“My office’s gun buyback events give New Yorkers a safe and secure way to rid their homes of deadly weapons and prevent them from falling into the wrong hands,"
James said. "Every gun collected today was another life saved and potential tragedy avoided."
The events are a part of James’ ongoing efforts to combat gun violence. Since 2019, the buybacks have removed 10,534 guns from New York State.
Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said the event exceeded his expectations and noted how important the event is to the community.
"You have prevention, intervention and suppression, and this is a preventative effort that we are having in our comprehensive strategy to combat gun violence, which we believe has been successful," Evans said.
Gun buyback programs have been around since the 1970s and are often touted as a gun violence prevention initiative. Studies have found little evidence that buybacks significantly reduce shootings, but local officials believe buybacks can help prevent the theft or misuse of forgotten guns.
Zequa Tookes, director of Rochester's Office of Violence Prevention, said gun buybacks are one part of the broader effort to reduce gun violence in the community.
"Events like gun buyback programs are great, however, it is imperative that we continue to invest in our communities, get out and build relationship with the people of our communities and provide early interventions for our youth who are most at risk of being impacted by gun violence,” Tookes said in a statement.
At gun buybacks, officials offer cash or gift cards in exchange for working and non-working firearms. They are often presented as an amnesty program, meaning officials will not ask questions about the gun or take your ID.
Rochester's event paid $600 for assault rifles, $250 for semiautomatic handguns, $100 for revolvers/rifles/shotguns and $25 for certain other weapons.
Recovered firearms are usually destroyed. Sometimes, law enforcement officers will check the weapons to see if they are associated with known crimes.
— Kerria Weaver works as the Government and You reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle, with a focus on how government actions affect communities and neighborhoods in Rochester and in Monroe County. Get in touch at kweaver@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rochester gun buyback collects 606 firearms
