Philadelphia Aims for Greater Gun Safety With Buyback Event

Gun safety is a major national concern right now. A recent school shooting in Florida, where the state House of Representatives just voted to arm teachers in the classroom, has sparked a national debate on who should be allowed to own guns, and what kind, and how many.

Philadelphia is taking its own steps towards gun control by starting its first-ever buyback program. Through the program, owners of guns can turn them in to the Philadelphia Police Department. On a first-come, first-served basis, people who turn guns in will receive a $75 gift card to Official Unlimited, the owner of which, Yoni Nadav, supports the program and wanted to contribute. The buyback event will take place this Friday in North Philly.

A Philadelphia buyback event will offer anonymity and immunity to gun owners who surrender their firearms.

The great thing about the buyback event is that people can turn in guns with total anonymity and immunity. This means that if citizens have procured guns by illegal means or own illegal types of firearms, they can turn them in and not fear arrest or prosecution. Police hope that the event will serve to get some of Philadelphia’s gun inventory off the streets. In the absence of legislation limiting how many guns people can buy or who can own them, I feel that this is a clever and well-conceived idea to reduce the number of guns in the City of Brotherly Love.

According to Philadelphia Magazine: “Interested parties may exchange their guns from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at a building adjacent to Official Unlimited located at 2321 N. Broad St. Police simply ask that all firearms are transported and surrendered in a safe manner. With the number of homicides in the city having increased 14 percent last year, PPD established a new gun task force to help get as many illegal weapons off the street. Philadelphia averages one shooting approximately every six hours.”