Gifts for Guns event in Hawaiian Gardens yields 347 firearms
The first-ever Gifts for Guns exchange in Hawaiian Gardens netted nearly 350 firearms over the weekend, including several assault rifles and at least one Mac-10 machine pistol.
Authorities hope the gun exchange will help prevent accidents among children who may find old guns in homes, as well as “ease up the firearms violence in the communities we serve,” said Sgt. Thomas Burt of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Burt said 100 guns were turned in within the first hour of the exchange program Saturday. By 5 p.m. Sunday, 347 firearms, including 17 assault weapons, had been exchanged for Target, Wal-Mart and Ralphs gift cards worth $200 for each assault weapon and $100 for other guns.
The Hawaiian Gardens exchange didn’t match the nearly 1,000 weapons turned in over four days last year during a Gifts for Guns effort in Compton. The program began in the sheriff’s Compton division in 2005.
“I’m glad these programs are here,” said Jim Mosley, 55, a limousine driver from Dana Point who turned in an old hunting pistol Sunday.
Mosley, who purchased the handgun at least 20 years ago in Oklahoma, said hunting is “a hobby that’s no longer appealing.” He said he has “no desire to shoot it anymore.”
Burt said sheriff’s stations across the county have been hosting similar events since March. This weekend’s exchange at the Hawaiian Gardens Public Library and Safety Center was run by deputies from the Lakewood and Cerritos stations, and was sponsored by the city of Hawaiian Gardens and Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe.
Cynthia Flores, 29, of Lakewood said she turned in a handgun that her parents owned before she was born. She said they first purchased the gun for home security when they lived in a dangerous neighborhood but have never used it and have since moved away.
Flores said family members have often talked about getting rid of the weapon, but were not sure how. When she saw an advertisement for the exchange in a local newsletter, she finally saw an opportunity.
“It’s a very, very old gun,” she said, while holding up her gift cards and a complimentary black T-shirt with a printed signature from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the words “Terminate Violence.”
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