The District Attorney will hold the first gun buyback event in Erie since 1994. How will it work?

On Oct. 28, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office will provide gift cards ranging from $100 to $200 for the surrender of long guns, pistols and semi-automatic weapons. Weapons will be accepted anonymously.

Erie County District Attorney Elizabeth Hirtz announced the gun buyback program, saying it is aimed at reducing crime and getting unwanted guns out of homes.
The weapons will be collected at the Erie Central Fire Station on West 12th Street.
The city’s last gun buyback event occurred 29 years ago, and debate continues over the effectiveness of such programs.

As gun violence persists in Erie, the city is planning a gun buyback program for the first time in nearly 30 years.

The Erie County District Attorney’s Office will hold “the first in a series of gun buyback events” on Saturday, Oct. 28, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement Tuesday.

The event runs from noon to 4 p.m. at the Erie Central Fire Station, 208 W. 12th St., west of Sassafras Street. The District Attorney’s Office promotes this event with the catchphrase: “Save a life. Hand over your gun.“

The ransom is “completely anonymous,” the district attorney’s office said. “Residents do not need to show identification and will receive payment of $100 to $200 in cash gift cards depending on the type of gun turned in.”

The District Attorney’s Office is funding the event using drug forfeiture funds, and the event “will not have any cost to Erie County taxpayers,” the office said.

The office said it will accept rifles and shotguns ($100 gift cards each), pistols ($150) and semi-automatic weapons ($200). Ammunition can also be turned in, but this will not result in a payment, the office said.

When was the last time Eri bought a weapon?

The buyout will be the first in the city since 1994.

Critics of the event, called “Bringing Back the Pistol,” said it was largely a failure because it resulted in the collection of mostly antique or inoperable guns. Others said the event, which, like the Oct. 28 event, will allow residents to turn in guns with no questions asked, did help remove guns from homes or the streets.

The city of Erie implemented a buyback in 1994 in response to a surge in gun violence.

In announcing the Oct. 28 event, District Attorney Elizabeth Hirtz said the gun buyback program is designed to reduce gun violence, help prevent the theft of guns in burglaries and help limit the accidental discharge of firearms, especially firearms improperly stored in residential buildings where children live.

“Our gun buyback event will provide the community with a safe and anonymous way to turn in firearms they no longer want or need,” Hirtz said in a statement. “This event will help keep our community safe by reducing the likelihood of theft, self-harm and accidental shootings. Improperly storing guns poses a serious risk in homes with children.”

Do gun buyback programs work?

Erie County government officials in 2015 discussed the possibility of a gun buyback that may have been funded by the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority. Authority did not provide funding after reviewing studies that found gun buyback programs are ineffective in reducing gun violence.

The debate over gun buybacks continues.

Pew Charitable Trusts report September 2022 found that buybacks remain popular in the United States, but noted that “most studies show that these interventions are ineffective in reducing homicide and suicide rates.”

“It’s a waste of resources if the sponsoring organizations believe it will have a positive impact on reducing crime,” said Keith Taylor, an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which is part of the City University of New York. The York system says the Pew report. “But if the goal is to give people the opportunity to get rid of guns in their families that they no longer want to have, this is certainly a good option.”

In an interview, Hirtz said she was aware of the debate about the effectiveness of gun buybacks, but said, “I don’t think that’s a reason not to try. I don’t see any shortcomings.”

“It won’t cost taxpayers any money,” she said. “We have to try something. If it doesn’t work, we’ll go back to the drawing board and try something else.”

In 2015, when ECGRA was studying gun buyback funding, Joyce Savocchio described how such a program worked in 1994, when she was mayor of Erie.

The city raised about $35,000, mostly in private donations but also $5,000 in public funds, to fund the Return-A-Pistol ’94 program, or RAP, which the Erie City Council approved. The city issued $50 vouchers for each serviceable handgun and $25 vouchers for each serviceable long gun.

“Gun buyback programs were initiatives across the country back then,” Savocchio said in 2015. “My attitude was that everything is worth a try.”

The idea was noble, Savocchio said. But she said a serious problem arose after Erie’s program began.

“We actually ended up with guns that might have been in the homes of elderly or deceased people and people didn’t know how to get rid of them, or guns that were broken and useless, things like that,” Savocchio said. “If people expected street guns used to commit crimes to end up in trash cans, that didn’t happen.”

The program began in February 1994 and has collected 645 weapons. The city stopped him after three days when he ran out of money.

What you need to know about the gun buyback program

When: Saturday, October 28, noon to 4 p.m., rain or shine.

Where: Erie Central Fire Station, 208 W. 12th St., west of Sassafras Street.

What: The Erie County District Attorney’s Office will accept unloaded shotguns, handguns and semi-automatic weapons. Weapons will be accepted anonymously, “without questions,” the department said. Ammunition will be accepted, but payment will not be made. The surrendered weapons and ammunition will become the property of the detective bureau of the district prosecutor’s office, which will organize their destruction, the department said.

How many: The District Attorney’s Office said it will provide cash gift cards in exchange for the guns: $100 for rifles and shotguns, $150 for handguns and $200 for semi-automatic weapons.

Other details: Residents must carry unloaded firearms in the trunks of their vehicles and enter the fire station parking lot from West 12th Street, according to the District Attorney’s Office. The office said residents should remain in their vehicles while the firearms are recovered and they will receive appropriate gift cards. Vehicles must exit via the Sassafras Street exit.

Additional information: The District Attorney’s Office advised calling her office at 814-451-7023, emailing questions to [email protected] or going to www.EriDA. organization. The office said not to contact the Erie Fire Department.

Contact Ed Palattella at [email protected]. Follow him on X @ETNpalattella.