Attorney General James Announces 116 Guns Turned In At Plattsburgh Gun Buyback
Attorney General James Announces 116 Guns Turned In At Plattsburgh Gun Buyback
Attorney General’s Statewide Gun Buyback Program Has Now Taken 2,505 Unwanted Firearms Out of Homes and Off of Streets
PLATTSBURGH — Attorney General Letitia James today announced that 116 firearms were turned into law enforcement at a gun buyback event in Plattsburgh hosted by the Attorney General’s Office and the City of Plattsburgh Police Department. The Attorney General’s Office accepts, with no questions asked, working and non-working unloaded firearms in exchange for compensation on site. Since the Attorney General’s Office launched its statewide gun buyback program in 2013, the office has collected 2,505 firearms across New York State.
“Our neighborhoods are safer when we take unwanted, dangerous firearms off of our streets and out of our homes,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “My office is committed to ensuring that New Yorkers feel safe and are protected from gun violence, and we thank the City of Plattsburgh Police Department for their continued partnership.”
“Gun buyback programs help ensure the safety of our City by preventing firearms from ending up in the wrong hands. The wellbeing of our residents is top priority and this program is a critical resource for ensuring secure and effective gun disposal,” said City of Plattsburgh Police Chief Levi J. Ritter. “We thank Attorney General James for her collaboration on this event that helps to keep our communities safe.”
Yesterday’s gun buyback resulted in 116 guns being turned in. That number includes: six assault weapons; 52 handguns; 41 rifles; and 17 non-working or antique guns.
The Office of Attorney General offers money in the form of prepaid debit cards when a gun is received by law enforcement officers. The prepaid cards with the appropriate amount are issued after each unloaded gun is received and secured by the officers on-site.
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.
The Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force has focused on taking violent gun traffickers off our streets. The office 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’s Office 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 gun laws.
