A.G. Schneiderman Announces 120 Guns Turned In At White Plains Gun Buyback

A.G. Schneiderman's Statewide Gun Buyback Program Has Now Taken Nearly 1,700 Unwanted Firearms Out Of Homes and Off Streets – Part of AG’s Broader Efforts to Keep New Yorkers Safe from Gun Violence

  Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that 120 firearms were turned into law enforcement at his office's gun buyback event today in White Plains. The Attorney General’s Office accepts, with no questions asked, working and non-working unloaded weapons in exchange for compensation on site. Since the Attorney General launched his statewide gun buyback program in 2013, the office has now collected nearly 1,700 firearms across New York State. The buyback was co-sponsored by the Westchester County Executive’s Office, the Westchester District Attorney’s Office, and the City of White Plains Department of Public Safety.

“Gun violence is one of the biggest public health crises we face. Unwanted, forgotten, and neglected guns can quickly become dangerous, endangering our children, our families, and our law enforcement officers,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “These buybacks mean less guns in our homes and on our streets – part of our broader efforts to keep New Yorkers safe from gun violence. Government has a fundamental responsibility to do everything in our power to protect our children and our communities from these entirely predictable and preventable tragedies. We’ll continue to do everything we can here in New York while fighting for the federal action we need to keep our communities safe.”

The Attorney General's office offers money in the form of gift cards when a gun is received by law enforcement officers. Gift cards with the appropriate amount are issued after each unloaded gun is received and secured by the officers on-site. Free gun locks were also made available for attendees of the gun buyback.

The program is entirely funded through criminal forfeiture funds that were seized from drug and gun traffickers by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force.

Today’s gun buyback resulted in 120 guns being turned in. That number includes 3 assault weapons; 44 handguns; 40 rifles; and 33 non-working or antique guns.

The statewide gun buyback program is part of Attorney General Schneiderman’s broader efforts to keep New Yorkers safe from gun violence.

The Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force has focused on taking violent gun traffickers off our streets. Attorney General Schneiderman developed Model Gun Show Procedures, a series of safety procedures for gun show operators in New York State, and announced new policies to help social media sites curb illegal sales of firearms on their platforms. In 2016, the Attorney General released a first-of-its-kind analysis of tens of thousands of “crime guns” recovered by law enforcement, illustrating gun trafficking trends that undermine New York’s sensible laws. Attorney General Schneiderman has also been fighting for common sense gun laws in New York and on the federal level.