3rd Gun BuyBack set for February 18 – Northeast News

Harris County, Houston will pay up to $200.

HARRIS COUNTY – Now residents will have another opportunity to sell their unnecessary firearms. Harris County First Precinct Commissioner Rodney Ellis, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, and Mayor Sylvester Turner announced last Monday the third gun buyback program to be held on Saturday, February 18, from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm in Deussen Park in northeast Harris County . (SEE THE MAP FOR THE LOCATION OF DEUSSEN PARK).

The city and county previously held two gun buyback events that took place in July and October last year. City and county officials say the events were a success, with a huge turnout and over 2,000 firearms collected. Residents can turn in firearms “no questions asked” in exchange for gift cards ranging from $50 to $200 depending on the type of firearms collected.

“We can’t bring back life, but we can buy back the guns and make sure they never fall into the wrong hands or hurt anyone,” County Commissioner Rodney Ellis said. “So please do what you can to help make our communities safer by spreading the word about this – our third Harris County gun buyback – two in the city and this one will be county funded.”

Both the city and the county provided $1 million in federal funding for the gun buyback program. Last year, the county approved a portion of the fund for up to 8 gun buyback events to reduce gun violence, suicide, and gun-related accidents.

The city’s initiative is part of Mayor Sylvester Turner’s $63 million One Safe Houston initiative to reduce violent crime across the city and provide funds for things like mental health programs, domestic violence and overtime for police officers.

So far, the county has spent $225,000 on the program, and the city has yet to confirm the amount spent.

The announcement of the third gun buyback program was also linked to the unveiling of the “Stop Gun Violence” mural in front of Worthing Early College High School in Sunnyside.

Mayor Sylvester Turner said the first two events exceeded city and county expectations.

“The success of these two events has demonstrated that people really want a safe place to dispose of their weapons,” he said. “And of course, some may have been attracted by gift cards, but the impact is undeniable – we’re removing unwanted weapons that may have fallen into the wrong hands or into the wrong hands.”

The event on February 18 will last from 8:00 to 12:00. The same rules and procedures will apply, but with more queues and staff to account for the possibility of the huge turnout that occurred at the first two events.

Officials said they would not accept “ghost guns” or privately made weapons, which was a problem during the first gun buyback event in July.

“We found we needed more lines, more people, and more staff,” Turner said. “The first time we didn’t know how many there were, we thought there were several hundred, but the lines were long.”

The program has drawn criticism over whether it actually reduces crime in the city. Over the years, the number of murders in Houston has reached almost 500, but a report released by HPD last month showed that by 2022, the number of murders has decreased.”

It takes time for things to really show that they’ve been successful,” District D Council member Carolyn Evans-Shabazz said. “We know a lot of people might wonder why they made these ransoms in the first place – and of course I think it matters to someone whose life was spared because the person didn’t have an illegal weapon.”