Proposed Gun & Ammo Return Program OK'd By King County Council

KING COUNTY, WA — A proposal to create a new gun and ammunition return program sailed through the Metropolitan King County Council on a unanimous vote Tuesday, which could soon allow residents to take any unwanted firearms or bullets to the sheriff's office for safe disposal.

The measure, co-sponsored by six council members, is designed to allow residents to utilize any King County Sheriff's Office precinct or storefront and also asks the sheriff and the executive's office to examine ways to expand the program to communities and cities across the region.

In introducing the legislation last month, the bill's sponsors noted hundreds of events classified as mass shootings across the United States in 2022 alone, including in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas. Locally, the number of shooting victims last year was 70 percent higher than the four-year average, and fatal shootings were up 54 percent. In Washington, approximately three-quarters of all gun deaths are suicides.

“Time and again, we’ve seen the devastating effects of gun violence on our communities,” Councilmember Girmay Zahilay said in a statement Tuesday. “Gun violence is awful, tragic, and — above all else — preventable. The gun buyback program is a small but important step in making our communities safer through a simple, voluntary process, and I’m proud to support it.”

Council members also pointed to earlier successes in earlier gun safety programs, including mandatory destruction of forfeited firearms, implementation of Extreme Risk Protection Orders and safe gun storage programs. Officials said a 2013 gun buyback partnership between King County and Seattle netted more than 700 firearms. Two recent gun buyback events in Kirkland took in 151 guns and paid out more than $18,000.

"Reducing the number of guns in circulation will reduce the number of accidents, injuries and deaths caused by guns," said Councilmember Rod Dembowski. "And we know from past experience that people welcome the opportunity to turn unwanted guns over to a responsible party for disposal. This program will make that resource available to residents countywide, and I’m hopeful that we can stand it up as soon as possible."

Once the program is operating, residents will be able to voluntarily take any firearm or ammunition to the King County Sheriff's Office precincts and storefronts, including in the 10 cities where it extends policing services.