NJ to host largest gun buyback event

New Jersey is looking to collect your unwanted guns.

This Saturday, the largest one-day gun buyback program ever held in New Jersey is scheduled to take place with ten locations in nine counties committed hold events simultaneously including Bergen, Camden, Cumberland, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Salem, Somerset and Union counties.

Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck announced Middlesex and Somerset counties are hosting an event together and Salem county is participating for the first time. While the majority of the locations will open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., some counties are opening their doors earlier.

This will be Union County's fourth gun buyback event in the past few years, said Alexander Mirabella, Union County commissioner chairman. The amount of guns that have been bought back range from 228 to over 1,000. Mirabella is hoping the county can pull somewhere in between that number, but the more, the better.

The goal is to get the guns off the street and take unwanted and unused firearms out of the community, he said.

People can earn up to $250 per weapon. No appointment is necessary at any of the locations, with no questions asked.

Mirabella said people should arrive at any of the events with the weapons in a safe, secure container.

"We hope to pull as many of these unnecessary and unwanted guns off the street. The key for the public is they can be operational or not operational. They could be working or not working. Whatever condition they're in, they'll be evaluated, accepted and the people will get the cash right on the spot," said Mirabella.

Once the guns are returned, they will either be refurbished or discarded.

New Jersey has one of the strictest gun ownership laws in the country. Mirabella said it's not unusual, however, for residents to come into possession of unlicensed or unwanted guns, whether it's from an inheritance, a gift or even a hobby.

"If we can take these unwanted and unused guns out of the community, we feel that this is a real opportunity to improve our safety presence in the county. We feel like we're among the leaders in the state of New Jersey for having a safe community," said Mirabella.

Here are the locations for the gun buyback events:

Bergen County:

St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Church, 55 West Demarest Ave., Englewood

In partnership with Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella

Camden County:

Antioch Baptist Church, 690 Ferry Ave., Camden

In partnership with Camden County Prosecutor Jill S. Mayer

Cumberland County:

Alms Center, 1 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Bridgeton

In partnership with Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae

Mercer County:

Friendship Baptist Church, 111 Perry St., Trenton