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El Paso buyback collects 276 firearms in voluntary exchange for gift cards, county leaders say
Summary
Commissioner Laura Butler reported the county collected 276 firearms at a voluntary buyback event, exchanging them for gift cards; officials described the event as anonymous and voluntary and said it is part of an annual community safety effort.
Commissioner Laura Butler told the County Commissioners Court on May 19 that the county’s most recent voluntary gun buyback collected 276 firearms in exchange for gift cards.
Butler said the collection included 131 handguns, 134 rifles and shotguns, and three assault rifles. The county auditor’s office distributed roughly $34,000 in gift cards during the event and Butler said the county has distributed more than $150,000 in gift cards in similar exchanges overall.
Butler and other county leaders framed the buyback as an anonymous, voluntary program meant to reduce the number of unwanted firearms in the community. Butler thanked multiple county offices and volunteers for helping run the event, and listed participating partners including the Sheriff’s Office, County Attorney staff volunteers and the county auditor’s office.
Why it matters: Local gun buybacks are framed by organizers as a community safety measure that removes unwanted firearms from homes; they are also typically one-time, voluntary events and do not substitute for other policy or enforcement activity.
What officials said they will do next: Butler said the county plans to continue the buyback each year and thanked the volunteers, law enforcement and county departments that coordinated the exchange.
No formal action was taken by the court during the presentation.
