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Hawthorne council authorizes community gun buyback for Dec. 20
Summary
Hawthorne City Council authorized a no‑questions‑asked gun buyback on Dec. 20, 2025; police said surrendered firearms will be examined via LA County records and destroyed, and gift‑card exchanges will be audited.
The Hawthorne City Council authorized the Hawthorne Police Department to host a community gun buyback on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, at City Hall, after a staff presentation and council discussion.
Chief Lane said the department will set up a drive‑through collection (9 a.m.–1 p.m.), accept firearms no‑questions‑asked, track the instruments with the records bureau, submit surrendered firearms to LA County for crime‑gun checks, and send them to a contractor for destruction. The department proposed using audited gift cards as the exchange incentive.
Chief Lane and council members cited recent successful buybacks in nearby cities—Long Beach and Torrance—and framed the program as a voluntary tool to remove unwanted firearms from circulation and to provide community safety outreach, including a PSA on safe storage and handling.
Council moved and seconded the measure; the clerk announced the votes and reported the council voted yes. Staff committed to providing a post‑event report that includes counts, condition data from LA County checks, and a description of the auditing procedures used for gift cards.
