The final gun buyback event by El Paso County will take place this weekend after the Republican-controlled Texas legislature earlier this year banned cities and counties from having gun buyback programs.
Unwanted firearms can be voluntarily exchanged for gift cards from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Aug. 16, at the county tax office at the El Paso County Ascarate Annex, 301 Manny Martinez Drive at Ascarate Park.
Handguns and rifles will be collected, no questions asked. Firearms must be unloaded and transported in the trunk of the vehicle. Ammunition will also be accepted. Ghost guns will not be accepted, a county social media post for the event stated.
How much does the El Paso County gun buyback pay for firearms?
The county will issue gift cards in the following amounts in exchange for firearms:
The county’s previous gun buyback event in May collected 276 working firearms and eight nonoperational firearms at the Socorro ISD Student Activities Center in the far East Side, according to a county news release.
“Every firearm turned in is one less risk in our homes and on our streets,” El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte said at the time.
Texas bans gun buyback programs
The goal of gun buyback programs is to reduce the number of firearms, legally or illegally, in circulation. Buyback programs can be popular but are criticized as ineffective in reducing gun violence.
The buyback on Saturday will be the fourth and final such event by El Paso County after the Texas legislature this year passed a law banning municipal and county gun buyback programs. The ban, HB 3053, was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott and takes effect on Sept. 1.
Republican state lawmakers who supported blocking municipal gun buyback programs said it was not the role of local government to purchase people’s guns. Opponents, often Democrats from the state’s largest cities, argued that decisions on buyback programs were better left at the local level in cities and counties and that the ban was government overreach by state legislators in Austin, the Texas Tribune reported.
For more information on the El Paso County gun buyback program, call: 915-273-3594.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Texas bans municipal gun buyback programs, El Paso County to have its final event
Reporting by Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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