Thanks to the Santa Clara County Anonymous Gun Buy Back Event held at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds on March 2, 1,116 firearms have been taken out of the hands of local civilians.
According to an official statement from the office of Supervisor Ken Yeager, 562 cars showed up to the buy back with an average of 2 guns per vehicle.
Included in the 1,116 firearms bought back by the county were 47 assault weapons, 479 handguns, 355 rifles and 235 shotguns.
The event paid out $114,000 to citizens selling their guns. According to the statement by Yeager's office, the single highest payout was $1,500, the lowest was $50, the average was $200 per customer and $102 per gun.
A similar event held for Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Menlo Park residents in February yielded 400 firearms. A January gun buy back in San Mateo County brought in 680 firearms, including 24 assault weapons.
"The Santa Clara County Anonymous Gun Buy Back Program is one part of Board President Ken Yeager’s initiative to reduce the number of guns in the community, as outlined in his 2013 State of the County Address," Yeager's office said in a prepared statement. "The program is a partnership among County of Santa Clara Board President Ken Yeager, and the County’s top law enforcement officials Sheriff Laurie Smith and District Attorney Jeff Rosen."
