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Mayor Sylvester Turner’s One Safe Houston initiative is offering extra incentives to residents to help keep our communities safe.

A “no-questions-asked” gun buyback program will be held at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church on Saturday, July 30 from 8 a.m. to noon.

The program, which aims to reduce the number of guns on the streets, is not limited to only people in the City of Houston so no residency status will be checked.

“The City is investing $1 million for this program, and we are partnering with Harris County Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis to have the greatest impact and to get unwanted and dangerous guns off the streets,” said Mayor Turner. “This is one tool we are using to combat violent crime; there are too many guns on the streets. I encourage Houstonians to turn in their unwanted guns, which could help save a life and prevent crime. Only together will we be able to combat our current crime challenges and make our streets safer.”

There are people scrutinizing the program saying criminals or bad guys are not going to just walk up and hand over their guns. Undeterred, Commissioner Ellis said, at the end of the day, they are doing as much as possible to get these dangerous weapons off the streets.

With no questions asked, people who turn in their guns will receive a $50 gift card for every non-functioning gun, $100 for a rifle, $150 for a handgun, and $200 for an assault rifle. All firearms must be unloaded and inside the vehicle’s trunk.

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“Harris County and the City of Houston have mobilized our resources with absolute urgency in a full-court press on reducing violence in our communities. We’ve made the largest investment in public safety in the history of Harris County, implemented innovative new programs to get at the root of gun violence, and made investments to speed up our court system and keep the wheels of justice turning,” said Ellis. “Our gun buyback is just another way we are rolling up our sleeves and getting to work to make our community safer. I’m proud to partner with the city on this initiative and look forward to getting some guns off the street on July 30th.”

The Gun Buyback program is voluntary and anonymous. If a surrendered gun has been reported stolen, police will make every effort to return it to the registered owner.

“I thank Mayor Turner for his vision and support. Because of his One Safe Houston initiative and our partnership with Houstonians, we are seeing our year-to-year violent crime numbers decrease,” said Houston Police Chief Troy Finner.

One Safe Houston, the Mayor’s Public Safety Initiative to Combat Violent Crime is a $53.1 million investment funded by the American Rescue Plan and focuses on four key areas:

  • Violence Reduction and Crime Prevention
  • Crisis Intervention, Response and Recovery
  • Youth Outreach Opportunities
  • Key Community Partnerships 

For more information on the Gun Buyback program, please visit https://www.houstontx.gov/onesafehouston/gun-buyback.html.