Make gun buyback an annual event

Martha Spinks saw the city of San Antonio's first gun buyback event in November as her chance to safely surrender three rifles.

There was nothing fancy or remarkable about them. One had been owned by her fatherin-law and two were owned by her husband, both of whom are deceased. The guns sat in locked containers in the closet for years.

Spinks, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, wasn't afraid of them, but she worried about her three grandchildren, who liked to play hide-and-seek, sometimes in the closet where the guns were stored.

The event was so popular that by the time she made it to the packed Alamodome parking lot, the storage space was full and hundreds of H-E-B gift cards worth more than $160,000 distributed in exchange for the weapons had run out. So she made an appointment for a police officer to pick up the rifles from her home.

The officer who picked up the rifles mentioned the guns might not be completely destroyed.

That's when she shared her concerns in a proposed letter to the editor to the Express-News.

About a month after San Antonio's gun buyback event, the New York Times reported that during similar events around the country, only the guns' frames, which included the serial numbers, were destroyed. The remaining pieces — the barrel, trigger, grip, slide, stock and springs — were sold as kits by contracted firms.

One of those firms, LSC Destruction of Nevada, lists San Antonio on its website as a client, but San Antonio Police Department Deputy Chief Jesse Salame said the department

hasn't used its services.

San Antonio District 9 Council Member John Courage, who organized the event, and SAPD Chief William McManus said Spinks' surrendered rifles — and the more than 900 weapons surrendered during the San Antonio event — will be completely destroyed.

“None of those guns will ever see the light of day again,” Courage said.

Unfortunately, the guns collected in November are still sitting in SAPD's property room. The city hasn't secured a contract with a metal recycling vendor to grind up the pieces. Courage wants the metal pieces

to be used in an anti-gun violence art piece.

Courage deems the event “very successful.” He not only wants to do it again, he wants to grow it. He'd like a stronger commitment for additional funding as part of the city's annual budget.

McManus has a more skeptical take. He said the event “went fine,” but the number of guns recovered “in no way reduced violent crime.”

Salame said the weapons surrendered were not the type of guns typically used in street crimes. In fact, none of the weapons surrendered at the event was ever used in a crime.

Courage said the goal wasn't necessarily to reduce crime but to make homes safer.

The event required considerable resources.

Courage culled together $186,055 in funding, which included $100,000 set aside from District 9, plus donations from local organizations, including the Peace Initiative, Moms Demand Action and religious groups.

McManus said the department paid $27,000 in overtime pay for officers to work at the event. This does not include the on-duty time after the event to process, test and store the weapons.

The direct impact of San Antonio's event is unclear. But we know that more Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2021 than in any other year on record. Of the 48,830 people across America who died of gun-related injuries that year, 54% were suicides and 43% were murders. Additionally, 549 were accidental, according to the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention's latest statistics.

The November event was popular because our community wants to make a difference. Our city should make the gun buyback event an annual event.

Even if it saves one person, this effort is worth it.

Carlos Javier Sanchez/Contributor Police store firearms turned in during the November gun buyback, which was a success because this community cares. Now Council Member John Courage wants to expand it.