Board Oks Developing Plan for Ridding Households of Unwanted Guns

Board Oks Developing Plan for Ridding Households of Unwanted Guns
Firearms Could Be Turned In Anonymously at Sheriff’s Office

At the initiative of Supervisor Dave Cortese, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved moving forward with a plan for residents to voluntarily rid their homes of unwanted firearms and to educate the public about the process.

The Board voted unanimously on Tuesday, November 20, to direct the Sheriff’s Office to come back with an around-the-clock plan that outlines steps a person would need to take to turn in a firearm anonymously to the Sheriff’s Office without questions and extensive paperwork, and without liability if the guns were not registered. The plan would not include a financial reward that is used as an incentive in gun buy-back events, which are also conducted anonymously.

Supervisor Cortese’s recommendation is one of the ideas that emerged from the Community Summit on Firearms Safety in April, which brought together 300 people of differing viewpoints on firearms for roundtable discussions about developing solutions to increasing incidents of gun violence in the U.S. It is also a response to a high rate of suicides using firearms in Santa Clara County, and an increasing number of crimes involving stolen weapons. Click here to read a report on the Firearms Summit, which was also on Tuesday’s agenda.

“This is not to take the place of gun buy-backs,” said Supervisor Cortese. “But I meet people who say, for example, that they inherited a number of weapons, don’t want them in their homes but don’t know how legally to get rid of them. Many of these people don’t necessarily want to be paid for relinquishing a firearm that they feel might cause harm to someone or to wait until the next buy-back.”

A key part of the plan will be to educate the public about laws related to gun ownership, safe ways to store guns and to spread the word about the relinquishment plan.

“We need to raise awareness about how to get rid of an unwanted firearm, when to do it and that it’s OK and safe to do it,” Cortese said.

For information, call Supervisor Dave Cortese’s Office at 408-299-5030.