The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors has approved funding to pay for a series of gun buyback events in the county starting next month and running through 2023.
The board approved spending up to $208,000 in reserves from Measure K, a 2016 voter-approved extension of a half-cent sales tax, to go along with $100,000 from the county Sheriff’s Office and $67,000 raised by the community group Citizens for a San Mateo County Gun Buyback to fund the events.
The first of the five events is planned for Dec. 11, when people will be able to turn in guns to law enforcement with no questions asked and can receive $100 per handgun, shotgun or rifle, and $200 per assault weapon, county officials said. The event will be held at 1000 Skyway Road in San Carlos.
The county held three similar events in 2018 and 2019, collecting a total of more than 1,200 weapons.
“A strong gun buyback program will help to ensure that guns don’t end up in the wrong hands,” Supervisor Don Horsley said in a statement. “By creating an avenue to turn in unwanted firearms we can work to prevent future loss of life.”
The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office has more information online.
