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Schneiderman announced that 120 firearms were turned into law enforcement officials during the buyback on Friday in White Plains, making it nearly 1,700 statewide since his office launched the gun buyback program in 2013.
According to Schneiderman, his office “accepts, with no questions asked, working and non-working unloaded weapons in exchange for compensation on site.” The entire program is funded through criminal forfeiture funds that were seized from drug and gun traffickers by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force.
On Friday, 44 handguns, 40 rifles and 33 non-working or antique guns were collected in exchange for various gift cards. Free gun locks were also made available to those in attendance at the buyback.
“Gun violence is one of the biggest public health crises we face. Unwanted, forgotten, and neglected guns can quickly become dangerous, endangering our children, our families, and our law enforcement officers,” Schneiderman said in a statement.
“These buybacks mean less guns in our homes and on our streets – part of our broader efforts to keep New Yorkers safe from gun violence. Government has a fundamental responsibility to do everything in our power to protect our children and our communities from these entirely predictable and preventable tragedies.”
In a separate statement, New York State Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins said that “gun violence is an epidemic and a public health crisis.”
“Programs like the Attorney General’s gun buyback initiative are essential to efforts to implement common-sense solutions to reduce gun violence and save lives. Studies have proven that states with stronger firearm safety laws and programs have fewer gun-related deaths than states that lack these basic regulations. I envision a world in which are all safe from gun violence, and I will continue to work alongside my partners in government to realize this vision.”
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