AG James Has Taken More Than 2,300 Firearms Out of Communities Since 2019
New York – New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that 84 firearms were turned in to law enforcement at a gun buyback event in the city of Rome hosted by her office and the Rome Police Department yesterday. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) accepts — with no questions asked — working and non-working, unloaded firearms in exchange for compensation on site. To date, Attorney General James has taken more than 2,300 firearms out of communities through gun buyback events and other efforts since taking office in 2019.
“Gun buyback programs are essential to protecting New Yorkers and preventing dangerous guns from ending up in the wrong hands,” said Attorney General James. “The threat of gun violence has loomed over our communities for far too long, and it is imperative that we take every step possible to eradicate this violence. My office will continue to use every tool at our disposal to keep our neighborhoods safe, and we thank the Rome Police Department for their invaluable support and partnership in this effort.”
“The Rome Police Department appreciates the partnership and support of the Attorney General’s Office and the community to make this gun buyback successful,” said the Rome Police Department’s Community Impact Unit. “We are grateful for the opportunity to get guns off the street, preventing them from falling into the wrong hands, and keeping the community safe. We are very supportive of any proactive approach to put an end to and prevent gun violence.”
The community gun buyback resulted in the collection of 84 guns, including 30 handguns, 34 shotguns and rifles, and 20 non-working guns. Since 2013, OAG has hosted gun buyback events throughout New York state and has successfully collected more than 4,300 firearms.
In exchange for the firearms, OAG offered monetary compensation, in the form of prepaid gift cards, when an unloaded gun was received and secured by an officer on site.
“Gun buyback programs are an important tool in reducing gun violence,” said State Assemblymember Marianne Buttenschon. “They allow unwanted and unused firearms to be taken off the streets, ensuring they will not fall into the wrong hands or be used to harm anyone in our community. I thank Attorney General James and local law enforcement for partnering and offering this program.”
“The city of Rome and the Rome Police Department are very pleased to partner with the New York Attorney General’s Office at this community gun buyback program,” said Rome Mayor Jackie Izzo. “This is an important public service and we hope that many people choose to take advantage of this opportunity. The RPD strives every day to remove illegal handguns and rifles from our streets, but our citizens may take advantage of the gun amnesty program and receive funds for doing so. We thank Attorney General James for bringing this program to Rome and look forward to great results.”
Gun violence is a public health crisis that is plaguing communities throughout New York, and this event is the latest action that Attorney General James has taken to combat this crisis and protect New Yorkers from harm. This year alone, Attorney General James has held 14 gun buybacks across the state, and has also secured dozens of dangerous firearms through takedowns of violent groups terrorizing New York. Earlier this year, Attorney General James announced the takedown of two major drug trafficking rings in Central New York, in which 15 guns, including nine ghost guns, were seized. To date, Attorney General James has taken a total of more than 2,300 guns out of communities since 2019.
