Today, Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-22) and Congressman Mike Quigley (IL-05) reintroduced the "Buyback Our Safety Act," legislation that would create a Department of Justice program to support local gun buyback initiatives.
The "Buyback Our Safety Act" authorizes a new matching grant available for local law enforcement agencies to help offset costs of buyback programs. The bill also requires the Department of Justice to report back to Congress on the success of the grant program.
"Buyback programs are an effective way to remove unwanted guns from homes and take them off the streets," said Congressman Deutch. "By giving people the opportunity to safely give up their firearms, these programs are helping to prevent gun accidents at home and reduce the chance of guns falling into the wrong hands. The Department of Justice should support these programs as a public safety effort to help prevent gun violence."
“The extremely high concentration of firearms in our country, including those that are often unused or unwanted, poses many challenges to gun violence prevention and our ongoing efforts to save lives,” said Congressman Quigley. “The Chicago area, in particular, knows all too well the importance of getting dangerous weapons off our streets. Buyback programs are an effective, responsible step forward in making our homes and our communities safer by limiting the opportunities for gun-related accidents and deaths, and I am pleased to partner with Rep. Deutch on this vital legislative priority.”
Following the tragedy at Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland parents created 4FNOW ("Fewer Firearms, Fewer Funerals Now"), a gun violence prevention organization created to help "remove unwanted, unneeded guns from our community." Last September, 4FNOW partnered with the Coral Springs Police Department to host a voluntary, anonymous gun buyback event.
“In the aftermath of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, courageous students emerged to lead a movement to reduce gun violence, challenging the notion that there was little that could be done. Our goal was to stand beside them while they helped to make a safer world," said Doug Eaton, president of the 4FNOW organization. "At 4Fnow.org, we are interested in one thing: safer communities in which to live, work, play, and go to school. Fewer firearms leads to fewer funerals, and certainly to fewer violent crimes involving weapons. Therefore, our vision is to remove unwanted and unneeded guns from our communities, and to create a sustainable model for doing so, to be replicated in other communities.”
"My husband, Chris Hixon, was a victim of the MSD shooting on Feb. 14, 2018. I support the movement of gun buyback programs to help keep our schools and streets safe by getting unwanted firearms off the streets," said Debbie Hixon, a member of the 4FNOW organization. "Gun buybacks are a way for Americans to come together to do something about the gun violence epidemic in our society; they help to keep the conversation about responsible firearm ownership moving forward and they help keep unwanted firearms off the streets. They are voluntary programs which indicate the people who participate see the value in disposing of unwanted firearms in a responsible way."
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