King County officials announced today a new Gun Safety Initiative, including a gun buyback program, will take place later this month.

The countywide gun buyback initiative will provide a monetary incentive to individuals who turn in firearms, while engaging our communities toward a common goal of reducing gun violence.

“If we can prevent just one child, one innocent bystander, from being the victim of a random accident, or the target of an unstable person, it will be well worth our time and effort,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine.

The first gun buyback will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26 in downtown Seattle in the parking lot underneath Interstate 5 between Cherry and James Streets.

The Seattle Police Department will also be distributing trigger locks for those who wish to secure their firearms safely. These will be available at each of the five precincts during normal business hours.

Modeled on successful gun buyback programs across the country, the Seattle and King County gun buyback program will consist of an anonymous process in which individuals can turn in their unwanted weapons. Law enforcement officials will not be taking pictures of participants, nor will they be logging license plate numbers or running ballistic tests on the guns that are turned in. In exchange for dropping off a weapon, individuals will receive a gift card valued at up to $100.00 for hand guns, shotguns, and rifles, and up to $200 for assault weapons (as classified in the State of Washington).

“The Sheriff’s Office remains committed to providing a safe place for citizens to turn in guns they no longer want. It is a much better choice to remove an unwanted gun from your home than to leave it where it can be stolen and used in a crime,” said King County Sheriff John Urquhart.

In partnership with the Seattle Police Department, other law enforcement agencies in King County, community and faith based organizations, the gun buyback effort will set up locations throughout Seattle and King County where individuals can turn in firearms anonymously, with no questions asked.

Former Seattle mayors Greg Nickels, Norm Rice, Charles Royer and Wes Uhlman are serving as co-chairs of the program and current Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, Constantine, Seattle Police Deputy Chief Nick Metz, Dr. David Fleming of Public Health – Seattle and King County, Renee Hopkins of the Seattle Police Foundation and Reverend Aaron Williams of Seattle’s Mount Zion Baptist Church, announced their participation and endorsement for the program.

The Seattle Police Foundation has committed $25,000 to the Gun Safety Initiative, and will serve as the program coordinator. The last time the Seattle Police Department held a gun buyback program was in 1992.

Corporate sponsors include Amazon, which has committed $30,000 in gift cards that will serve as a monetary incentive for those turning in a gun. PEMCO has contributed $5,000, and SEOmoz, a Seattle-based search engine and social optimization software company, has contributed $10,000, and the 5 Point Café and Big Mario’s Pizza has contributed $500. Their funding, along with that of the Seattle Police Foundation, will go toward the purchase of gift cards from other local vendors besides Amazon. Eli Lilly has contributed $1,500 in advertising. Nucor Steel has agreed to make an in-kind contribution and will melt down the guns turned in. The Seattle Police Foundation will continue to solicit contributions to support the gun buyback effort.

Community partners of the gun buyback effort include the Associated Recreation Council, Café Racer, Mount Zion Baptist Church and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

Members of the public interested in donating to support the program can do so online via the Seattle Police Foundation website at http://www.seattlepolicefoundation.org.