New Jersey Offers Gun Buybacks In 3 Cities
CAMDEN, NJ (CBS) -- Three churches in Camden, Trenton and Newark are taking part in a two-day gun buyback program offered by the New Jersey Attorney General's office.
At the Antioch Baptist Church on Ferry Avenue, hundreds of people stood in line, unloaded weapons in hand, ready to trade them in for $20 to $200 each, no questions asked.
Attorney General Christopher Porrino is using drug forfeiture money to pay for it all. But, it's not just all about the money. They're also teaming up with the feds to get those who use illegal guns off the street.
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"The federal sentencing guidelines and the federal statutes have even more harsh penalties for those who commit violent gun offenses, and we're going to take advantage of those statutes and those sentencing guidelines in the right cases," Porrino told KYW Newsradio.
The state is also using new bail rules. Once this buyback is done, Porrino's policy is clear. Commit a crime with a gun, and it's no bail, straight to jail.
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Harry Jackson of Voorhees stood in line, waiting patiently to trade in a rifle and an old style handgun that have been gathering dust for decades. He netted a couple hundred bucks, and a little peace of mind.
"Any gun on the street is a danger depending on whose hands it's in," he said, "to leave them around possibly for anybody to pick up, and that anybody could be very dangerous."
The buyback will conclude Saturday night at 8 PM in Camden, as well as Friendship Baptist Church in Trenton and the Greater Abyssinian Baptist Church in Newark.