Many people who attended a gun buyback program in Rochester Tuesday said they were just glad to get rid of an unwanted weapon they had in their home.
The State Attorney General's Office and Rochester Police hosted the event at the Full Gospel Tabernacle Church on Clifford Avenue.
Doreen said she just wanted to get a gun out of her Ontario, Wayne County, home.
"It's just been there since relatives, past relatives have died. It's never been loaded, it's never been used. But I just didn't want it in the house anymore," she said.
Vincent of Rochester also had an unwanted weapon in his home.
"I'm tired of having it. I have more guns, but just want to get of them, one by one," he said.
People turning in guns at the buyback were eligible for a gift card worth up to $100 dollars.
The head of the the Regional Office for the Attorney General, Ted O'Brien, says in some cases people may have an unlicensed or illegal gun, and this is a way they can get rid of the weapon, anonymously.
"They're not the licensed permit holder, and they don't know what to do. And they're nervous about it. This is an affordable opportunity to come, present your guns, no questions asked, and sometimes people know they have an illegal gun and they want to dispose of it, this is also an amnesty program. No questions asked, hand those guns in and we get them off the street that way."
O'Brien says the effectiveness of such events is open for debate, but the more guns they get off the street the better -- particularly orphaned guns.
"We know that those guns are not going to be involved in crimes, now. So the more guns we get off the street, hopefully that's one component of an overall gun violence strategy," he said.
State sponsored gun buyback programs have resulted in some 12 hundred weapons being turned in over the past four years.
Schneiderman said later on Tuesday that 128 firearms were turned in to law enforcement at the event in Rochester, including: 3 assault weapons; 60 handguns; 29 rifles; 19 shotguns including 2 sawed-off shotguns, and 17 non-working guns.
Some of the weapons turned in shortly after the gun buyback began this morning:
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