Orange County supervisor highlights third regional gun buyback, cites hundreds of weapons turned in

Doug Chaffee, Orange County supervisor for the Fourth District, told the La Habra city council on Oct. 20 that county supervisors and multiple police departments are organizing a third regional gun buyback to be hosted by the Garden Grove Police Department.

Chaffee said the county’s two prior buybacks collected a substantial number of weapons. “The total so far from the first two gun buybacks, we had 757 weapons that have been turned in, including 53 assault weapons,” Chaffee said. He described the event as anonymous and safety-focused: participants place firearms in the trunk of their car, officers inspect and grade the weapon, and participants receive gift cards for accepted items. Chaffee said organizers pay $300 for assault weapons and $100 for other operable firearms, and that free gun locks are available at the event.

Chaffee said multiple city police departments have participated in past events and that county supervisors will cover costs for participating cities’ police staffing. He said collected firearms are eventually destroyed. “Pretty scary when you think about those kind of weapons being out there on the street,” he said.

Council member Juan Gomez thanked Supervisor Chaffee and described the supervisor’s frequent local involvement in community events.

No formal city action was taken; the presentation was informational.