Jersey City Hosts Gun Buyback; Controversy Continues To Surround Local Gun Shows
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) - A gun buyback program in northern New Jersey netted officials more than 120 weapons.
Saturday's gun buyback in Jersey City was held at a local church. Those who turned in rifles received $100, while those who handed over handguns and automatic weapons were given $150, no questions asked.
Funding for the buyback program came from private and corporate donors, as well as the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office forfeiture funds. City officials plan to release a full tally of the weapons collected and the total amount that was paid out on Monday.
Authorities say all the weapons obtained through the program will be destroyed.
The Jersey City buyback was held the same day as an antique gun show in Stamford. The show was met with protests, with some calling the show insensitive.
Stamford is about an hour's drive from Newtown, Conn., where last month a shooting rampage left 20 first graders and six educators dead.
Other gun shows that had been scheduled in cities all across the region have been canceled or postponed in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre.
But some gun show officials are standing firm, arguing guns and legal gun owners are not the issue.
One gun show will go on as scheduled next weekend in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., a bit farther away from Newtown, about 120 miles. But city officials have asked organizers not to display military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Organizer David Petronis says it's not fair that the shows and their organizers are seen as the brunt of the problem. But he says he understands the reaction, and the group agreed to the city's request.
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