UPDATE 7:48 P.M.:
The gun buyback event collected more than 680 firearms, including 24 assault weapons, 338 hand guns and 371 long guns, according to Congresswoman Jackie Speier.
Officials also collected a 100 round capacity magazine, 30 round
capacity magazines, a sawed-off shotgun and a street sweeper.
A total of $63,500 was handed out.
------------------------------------
By 9:30 a.m., the line of cars waiting to enter the lot of the San Mateo County Event Center for the gun buyback event was so long, Sheriff's deputies and staff decided to start the event a full 30 minutes early.
By 11 a.m., already around 200 handguns, rifles, and even an assault rifle or two had been collected, and thousands in cash had been given out, prompting Congresswoman Jackie Speier and Sheriff's deputies to call the event "a success."
Rep. Speier (D-San Mateo), herself the victim of the mass shooting at Jonestown in 1978, was emotional as Sheriff's deputies collected a large assault rifle from one citizen.
As she asked Sheriff's deputies to show her the gun and explain how it worked and how many rounds the gun's magazine could hold, she shed a few tears.
During a press conference at 11 a.m., just 90 minutes into the event, San Mateo County Sheriff Greg Munks estimated they had already collected around 200 guns, and said he was "overwhelmed at the turnout."
Rep. Speier also took the microphone at the conference.
"One thing is very clear - we are a gun-violent society," she said, quoting that, of the 23 wealthiest countries in the world, the U.S. is responsible for 80 percent of all gun deaths.
"What [this event] shows is that, the people of our County recognize that the time has come to get guns out of their homes and turn them in to a safer place," she continued.
Rep. Speier addressed some of the criticism over gun buyback events by saying that, even though some of the guns collected came from responsible gun owners' homes, it's still possible they can get into the hands of criminals if a burglar should rob the home and get their hands on them.
"For those that say gun buybacks don't do enough, let me say this - for every gun collected here today, that's one less gun that could end up in the wrong hands and kill a child, kill an adult, or maim someone," she said.
In total, San Mateo County Supervisor Adrienne Tissier, who helped sponsor the event with Rep. Speier, said they had made $58,000 available for payouts that day, but that even if they ran out of funds, vouchers would be given out so that citizens could be paid for their guns later.
Tissier said, the $58,000 came from a variety of sources, but mostly, from community donations.
Patch will update this story as total numbers of guns collected and funds paid out is released by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.
As reported previously in this space, despite Obama’s affinity for communism and show of solidarity with the world’s leftists, the Chinese government thinks him a fool, yet they are more than happy to expand their global influence at our expense."http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/52504?utm_source=CFP+Mailout&utm_campaign=2a8a5348f3-Call_to_Champions&utm_medium=email
The definition of "assault weapon" in California is extremely vague to begin with, for one.
VERY rarely does someone defend themself against a perp with their gun. Sure, it happens, but not very often. Unless of course you walk around your house 24/7 holstered and ready to go. BUT - studies have shown that people in panic situations rarely act like they think they would in a crisis. There was a great documentary on it a few years ago. NOT ONE of the armed citizens could even get their gun out of the holster, and if they did, they shot wildly (Most were 'dead' before they could shoot).
9:51 am on Sunday, January 27, 2013 @Jo Tog: "...As previously reported in this space..." To correct the record, Patch has not reported such a thing in the past. Perhaps you meant something else, but the sentence as it reads now implies that Patch has reported what you assert. ----------------------------------------------------- Thank you, Ms. Chung, for calling this troll out for his or her posting of factually untrue statements. I wonder which paranoid right-wing blog convinced Jo Tog that efforts to prevent Americans from dying in gun violence somehow constitute a communist Chinese plot?
President of the National Assocation of Police Officers and Boston Police Officer Thomas Nee is a member of Vice President Joe Biden's gun control task force, which was created by President Obama in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Nee's son, Joseph Nee, was convicted in 2008 for planning to commit mass murder of students and teachers at Marshfield High School in Massachusetts, similar to that of Columbine in 1999. After spending nine months in prison, Nee's conviction was upheld by the Supreme Judicial Court. Nee told police the plan involved taking ammunition and explosive devices into the school, securing the school's exit doors with bicycle locks, and shooting students and staff. As the blog SipseyStreetIrregulars first pointed out, Nee may have planned to carry out murders of his classmates with his father's service gun. http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2013/01/07/son-of-biden-gun-control-task-force-member-convicted-of-conspiracy-to-commit-school-massacre-n1483006
Police Chief concedes gun buyback programs don't reduce street crime..... http://www.examiner.com/article/police-chief-concedes-gun-buyback-programs-don-t-reduce-street-crime?cid=rss It is amazing that government resources, time, and tax payer money are being spent on feel-good useless programs as stated in link above that do nothing to reduce crime. Let's review: the guns being turned in are old and many are broken. the high risk guns are not the ones being turned in and lastly the high risk people don't tend to participate!! Unbelievable, but yet we all feel so good taking part in an exercise of futility and it's all paid for by us the taxpayer. DON'T YOU FEEL SAFE NOW!!!
[VIDEO:] Family Dog of Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly Kills Sea Lion in Laguna Beach http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2013/03/gabrielle_giffords_mark_kelly.php http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/26/kelly-giffords-calif-sea-lion/2020837/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+usatoday-NewsTopStories+%28News+-+Top+Stories%29
March 2013 survey of police officers covered proposed legislation and attitudes about arming citizens SAN FRANCISCO – PoliceOne.com, the leading online resource for law enforcement, today released findings from a national survey of police professionals that provide insight into the opinions of American law enforcement regarding gun control policies and the root causes of and potential solutions to gun crime in the United States. The survey, which was conducted in early March 2013, received 15,000 responses from law enforcement professionals. It found that the overall attitude of law enforcement is strongly anti-gun legislation and pro-gun rights, with the belief that an armed citizenry is effective in stopping crime. Response percentages varied only slightly when analyzed by rank and department size. http://www.policeone.com/corporate-profile/press-releases/6188461-PoliceOne-com-Releases-Survey-of-15-000-Law-Enforcement-Professionals-about-U-S-Gun-Control-Policies/