| TRENTON – Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa today reminded the residents of Passaic County that a state-led gun buyback event will take place this coming Friday, May 3, and Saturday, May 4, at two churches -- the Gilmore Memorial Tabernacle Church in Paterson, and the St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in Passaic.
Between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday and again on Saturday, Passaic County residents can turn in a maximum of three firearms of any type “no questions asked” and receive up to $250 per weapon.
Police officers will be stationed at the two churches to collect and secure the guns.
The Gilmore Memorial Tabernacle Church is located at 68 Haledon Avenue in Paterson. The St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church is located at 101-103 Myrtle Avenue in Passaic.
The Attorney General’s Office is paying for the two-day buyback event with criminal forfeiture funds provided by its Division of Criminal Justice. The Passaic County Prosecutors’ Office is contributing forfeiture monies as well.
The program – the sixth state-led “Guns for Cash” buyback event since last December -- is a cooperative effort involving the Attorney General’s Office, the state Division of Criminal Justice, New Jersey State Police, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, the Passaic Police Department, the Paterson Police Department, the Paterson Police Cease Fire Unit, the faith-based community in Passaic County and a variety of community volunteers.
Attorney General Chiesa thanked the Gilmore Memorial Tabernacle Church and the St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church for hosting the Passaic County gun buyback, and urged residents to take advantage of this two-day opportunity to earn extra money by turning in their firearms.
Chiesa also noted that the gun buyback is for firearms only – not ammunition, and urged residents to use extreme caution in transporting their weapons.
Under state law, guns must be transported unloaded and secured in a closed and fastened case, gun box or securely tied package, or be locked in the trunk of the vehicle in which they’re being carried.
The most recent gun buyback led by the Attorney General’s Office was held on March 22 and 23 in Atlantic County, and took in a total of 2,061 guns – including 14 assault weapons and more than 1,000 handguns.
To date, the five state-led buybacks have brought in more than 9,000 firearms, including approximately 4,500 handguns and 1,100 guns that were illegal to own because of excessively high magazine capacities, or because they featured sawed-off barrels or other unlawful modifications.
Residents with questions about the gun buyback program can call the Attorney General’s Citizen Services unit at (609) 984-5828 or visit www.nj.gov/guns.
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