Citywide gun buyback events net 650 working weapons so far

Community activist Bilal Qayyum sadly recalled when one Philadelphia resident found two handguns in one of her flowerpots in front of her house.

Then Wednesday night, a 2-year-old accidentally shot himself in Point Breeze. He is expected to survive, but Qayyum emphasized that people need to get guns out of homes.

The examples were used to show how useful gun buyback programs can be.

The president of Father’s Day Rally Committee moderated a virtual news conference Thursday to promote two citywide gun buybacks that are happening Saturday.

“The purpose of a gun buyback program is for safety,” said Ben Naish, deputy police commissioner for investigations. “It’s an indication of how bad things can happen when people who don’t have the right to have a gun.”

In addition to Naish and Qayyum, City Councilmembers Kenyatta Johnson, Curtis Jones Jr. attended the virtual event.

Philadelphia City Council, the Father’s Day Rally Committee, the Philadelphia Police Department, and community anti-violence leaders will partner to hold Gun Buyback events this weekend in response to the city’s elevated rates of homicide and shooting incidents.

According to a database by the City Controller’s office, there were 1,573 nonfatal and 395 fatal shooting victims as of Tuesday.

This week’s event is the latest in a year-long “2021 No Gun Campaign” focused on getting illegal guns out of homes and off Philadelphia city streets.

This year’s events to date have netted over 650 working weapons, the majority of which were subsequently destroyed by the Philadelphia Police Department.

Organizers strongly encourage residents to remove unwanted weapons from their homes ahead of the holiday season. They said that there is great risk of unsecured weapons falling into the hands of children and other individuals who are not permitted to own them, with devastating results.

Earlier this year, Everytown for Gun Safety released a report that analyzed accidental shooting incidents between 2015 and 2020 that showed that child shooting incidents were higher during the holiday periods of November and December.

Those who turn in working handguns or semi-automatic firearms — safely and confidentially and in return will receive a $100 gift certificate to Brown’s ShopRite stores.

When asked about the correlation between gun violence reduction and gun buyback programs, Jones said it was one factor.

“It’s not one aspect of tackling gun violence — it’s one of many aspects,” he said. The councilmember said that as part of a comprehensive approach to gun violence prevention there also needs to be a focus on lost and stolen weapons and the use of gun locks. Jones also noted that there are parts of Pennsylvania that see the proliferation of guns as “Philadelphia’s problem.”

Johnson noted that there is currently legislation of Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk to allow gun ownership without a license. Although the governor is expected to successfully veto the legislation, the councilmember said “we need to stop the bleeding now.”

Johnson, chair of Council’s Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention, said while gun buybacks are important it does take a comprehensive approach with all levels of law enforcement and criminal justice working hand in hand.

This month’s gun buybacks will take place this Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Paul AME Church (8398 Lindbergh Boulevard) and St. Mark’s Church (4442 Frankford Ave.)

“We need to be giving to and serving our community,” said the Rev. Malcolm Lloyd Guyton of St. Paul AME Church. “This is an opportunity for people to do the right thing.

Christina Mancini, lay leader of St. Mark’s Church in Frankford, said the effects of gun violence are far reaching.

“We’re unfortunately no strangers to the trauma of gun violence,” she said, adding that we all need to talk to youth and help them with conflict resolution. “Anything we can do to save a life.”

Philadelphia was one of the first U.S. cities to try gun buybacks with several programs in the early 1970s.

A meta-analysis from December 2019 in Current Trauma Reports suggests that gun buybacks should be included in broader violence reduction strategies.

“Buybacks in conjunction with other methods have been shown to be successful in reducing the number of firearms that could lead to injury and death,” the authors write. They note that non-Hispanic Black men are the most common victims of fatal firearm injury, while gun buyback participants tend to be older white men.