Guns For Gift Cards Event At Everett Police South Precinct Off To Busy Start

Editor’s Update 4:00 PM: In spite of running out of gift cards after just over two hours, Everett Police continued to accept guns from people Saturday afternoon until the last vehicle went through.

While some decided to hold onto their weapons, others turned them in. Here’s the final total.

241 Total guns

9 AR-15 or AK style rifles

109 Rifles/Shotguns

123 Handguns

Total value of gift cards = $25,000.00

Today Police in Everett, Washington are conducting a “Guns for Gift Cards” event at their south precinct on Everett Mall Way. More than 30 vehicles were lined up prior to the start of the event at 10:00 AM. The event is scheduled to go until 2:00 PM or whenever the supply of gift cards runs out. Here is the Frequently Asked Questions list posted by Everett Police to better explain the event:
 
GUNS FOR GIFT CARDS-FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. Are gun buybacks effective?
A. For individual households, gun buyback programs lessen the likelihood of gun violence, whether accidental or intentional, occurring in the home. There are many households that have firearms that are unwanted and unused, such as inherited firearms, and people are unsure of how to dispose of them. The buyback program gives our community an option to legally dispose of the unwanted firearms, lessening the chance they fall into the wrong hands and are used in gun-related crimes or suicides.
Buyback programs are one part of a broader effort to reduce gun violence and serve as opportunities to educate communities about gun violence reduction strategies.

Q. Is this a violation of my rights to legally own firearms?
A. EPD has no intention of taking away a responsible gun owner’s firearms. This voluntary program is geared toward those who are uncomfortable with the firearms in their home or have no use for their firearms any longer, affording them a safe, legal way to dispose of their firearms.

Q. What happens to guns that are turned in?
A. All firearms will be checked to see if they are stolen or have been used in any crimes. If the weapon is not stolen or used in a crime, it will be properly destroyed by the Everett Police Department. If the weapon is stolen or determined to have been used in the commission of a crime, the firearm will be impounded as evidence and not destroyed unless and until its evidentiary value has dissipated. Participants who submit a firearm that is determined to be stolen or related to
criminal activity may be properly investigated for their role in any criminal activity related to the firearm.

Q. Where did the funding for the gift cards come from?
A. The City will use funding from its federal Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds award (ALN 21.027; FAIN SLFRP0494). This funding was made available through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Eligible uses of these funds include:
 Revenue replacement for the provision of government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, relative to revenues collected in the most recent fiscal year prior to the emergency
 COVID-19 expenditures or negative economic impacts of COVID-19, including assistance to small businesses, households, and hard-hit industries, and economic recovery
 Premium pay for essential workers
 Investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure The Gun Buyback program is being funded under the revenue replacement for the provision of government services eligibility category.

Q. Can I purchase guns from people who are at the event to turn theirs in?
A. No. The law requires private buyers and sellers to conduct a firearms transaction through a federally licensed firearm dealer (FFL). Unlawful transfer of a firearm is a criminal offense subject to enforcement. (RCW 9.41.115). Transfers to law enforcement are exempted from formal transfer requirements (RCW 9.41.113(4)(e)). Individuals are not allowed to impede event traffic on the street, sidewalk, or parking lot (EMC 10.48).
 
Here are the rules for the event:

Residents from the City of Everett and Snohomish County are welcome to participate. Residents from other jurisdictions are welcome to turn in their unwanted firearms, but will not receive a gift card.

Gift cards will be handed out as follows:

$25: Inoperable firearms/Receivers*

$100: Rifles*/Shotguns*

$200: Handguns*

$300: AR-15/AK-47*/Machine guns*

*See definitions

Community members attending the event shall leave all firearms unloaded and secured in the trunk, or in a locked area of a truck bed (in a canopy, toolbox, tonneau cover), of their vehicle. Officers at the event will open the trunk with the owner’s permission and remove the firearms.

Limits:

Residents will generally be limited to submitting 10 eligible firearms in exchange for gift cards; however, onsite staff has the discretion to increase or decrease that limit based on the firearms being turned in, the amount of participation from the public, and the overall desire to safely dispose of unwanted firearms.

Definitions

• Handgun (Pistol): originally designed, made, and intended to fire a projectile (bullet) from one or more barrels when held in one hand, and having: a chamber(s) as an integral part(s) of, or permanently aligned with, the bore(s); and a short stock designed to be gripped by one hand at an angle to and extending below the line of the bore(s).

• Rifle/Shotgun:

Rifle: Designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder, and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger.

Shotgun: Designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder, and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger.

• Semi-Automatic Rifle: Is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger and uses part of the fired cartridge’s energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber from a clip or magazine with or without a bayonet lug, with fixed, collapsible, folding stock, buffer tube, or forearm brace, to include AR-15 or AK47 or AK74 pistols and similar model high caliber pistols.

• Non-Functioning Firearm – A Rifle, handgun, or shotgun that does not appear to be in working condition due to broken, corrosion, rust, or otherwise complete, but non-functioning, or an AR-15/AK-47 lower receiver with trigger group and buffer tube (no upper receiver).

• Ghost Gun- A ghost gun is any privately made firearm (PMF) that appears to be a fully functioning firearm, produced by a person other than a licensed manufacturer, and without a serial number placed by a licensed manufacturer at the time the firearm was produced. (3D printed, Harlots, Liberators, Polymer80s).

• AR-15: An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Stoner AR-15 design.

• AK-47: is any one of a series of automatic rifles based on the original design of Mikhail Kalashnikov

• Machine gun: A machine gun is designed to continue firing for as long as the trigger is held down, Unlike semi-automatic firearms, which require one trigger pull per round fired

• Receivers- Most lower receivers will be accepted. On-site, staff have the ability to limit or deny any receiver being traded in.

Non-functioning Firearms

• Non-functioning firearms are welcome. However, onsite staff has the discretion to decline to accept types or amounts of nonfunctioning firearms.

Gift cards

• Gift cards will be pre-paid VISA gift card(s).

Residency/verification requirements

• Participants must provide proof of residency in Everett and Snohomish county to be eligible to receive a gift card in exchange for a firearm. This could be a government-issued ID, a utility bill, a vehicle registration, or other form of proof of residency acceptable at the discretion of the onsite staff. We will not be recording your name or otherwise conducting any records checks. If you prefer to cover your name when showing proof of residency to the officer that is acceptable. The purpose of providing your utility bill, ID, or registration is solely for the purpose of establishing that you are a resident of Everett or Snohomish County.

• Everett Residents will enjoy exclusive access to the event from10am to12pm. and the event will then open up to all other residents of Snohomish County from12pm-2pm. Non-Everett participants may not enter the lineup of cars (if any) until 12pm.

• United States Citizenship is NOT required to participate in this event. All community members who reside in Everett or Snohomish County are welcome, regardless of immigration status.

Collected Firearms

• All firearms will be checked to see if they are stolen or have been used in any crimes. If the weapon is not stolen or used in a crime, it will be properly destroyed by the Everett Police Department. If the weapon is stolen or determined to have been used in the commission of a crime, the firearm will be impounded as evidence and not destroyed unless and until its evidentiary value has dissipated. Participants who submit a firearm that is determined to be stolen or related to criminal activity may be properly investigated for their roll in any criminal activity related to the firearm.

• Firearms with significant historical value may be converted to department property for display purposes only.

Ammunition

• We will not be accepting ammunition at this event.

Ghost guns/ Privately made firearms (PMF)

• Ghost guns and PMFs are limited to one gun per resident. See the description above for more information on ghost guns. Ghost guns that are fully assembled will be paid out as their classification of a rifle or handgun.

• We will not be accepting any guns made with parts commonly found at home improvement stores (gas pipe barrels, mouse trap hammers, etc). We will not be accepting 3D-printed guns except where the lower receiver is the only 3d printed part and the rest of the gun appears to be fully functional and safe to fire. Discretion as to the legitimacy of the Ghost Gun will be given to the firearms staff at the event.

Event staff have sole discretion about any and all firearms submitted, including determinations as to what constitutes a firearm, the amount of gift cards given in exchange for firearms, and who may participate. Any attempts to “game” the system will be rejected. Staff assigned to this event have the authority to interpret these rules should a conflict arise. The purpose of this event is to remove unwanted firearms from community members who no longer desire them in their homes. Decisions regarding this event will give weight to that overarching purpose. Once all $25,000 in gift cards have been handed out community members may still turn in unwanted firearms until the event ends, however, they will not receive a gift card for their firearm(s). We will not issue any IOU’s, or otherwise promise to make any payments for guns once all the gift cards have been distributed.