Sometime this summer, the Seattle Police Department is expected to hold another gun buyback event. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said there was enough money left over from private donations for the first event in January to hold a second buyback.
Like the first time, people who turn over firearms will be rewarded with a gift card. And this time, McGinn said the SPD will better organize and structure the event, to deal with things like the informal gun market that cropped up just outside the January event and some negative community response.
“There were people who were offended that guns were going to be destroyed," said McGinn. “There’s an oddness to our feelings toward guns in this country, and I think in Seattle we can make a difference on that."
McGinn said the guns collected from the upcoming buyback event will be melted down and turned into plaques inscribed with quotes about gun violence.
He originally thought that the guns from the January event would be melted down too. Instead, he said they were already melted and turned into rebar.