The City of Pensacola is holding a Gun Buyback Event on Saturday, March 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bill Gregory Park, 150 N. W St. The goal of the event is to reduce the availability of unwanted guns within the community, provide the opportunity for safe disposal of firearms, and to raise awareness within the community in hopes of shifting the culture to reduce the number of firearm related incidents.
Through the Gun Buyback Event, individuals can turn in functional and operational firearms and receive a cash payment for their firearm. There will also be educational opportunities, distribution of gun locks and refreshments.
The Gun Buyback Event is:
- 100% voluntary
- 100% anonymous
- No ID will be required to submit a firearm.
All firearms must be secured in a container or box, with no open carry. Any ammunition will need to be secured in a separate container. Persons who are prohibited by law from possessing a firearm are not exempt from those provisions.
This event is at the request of District 7 City Councilman Delarian Wiggins, with the approval of the Pensacola City Council and with the identification of funding by Mayor Grover Robinson.
Just to be clear, this program to buy firearms and “destroy” them is funded using “city taxpayer dollars.” They are using “our” money to pay for it. Robinson is spending the $10,000 from a $25,000 slush fund – “Unclassified” – that the city council gave him control over starting on October 1, 2020. If Mayor Robinson runs for reelection in 2022, every Republican voter in the city needs to receive a mailer describing how much city taxpayer money was spent for this and future gun buy back and destruction program events and listing his name and the names of all elected officials of the city who voted for it. In Districts 1, 2, 3 and 4 there are significantly more Republican voters than Democratic voters. I don’t know of a single person other than some city council members who think this is a good use of city government time or money. Mayor Robinson is also requiring that everyone at the event must wear a mask as a disguise so no one unwittingly says to a nearby PPD officer, “Hey, I know that guy. He’s a convicted felon.” People who live in Cantonment can sell their firearms so why does anyone think this will reduce crime in the city. Putting more police officers on patrol duty might but that is not a priority for the city council or Mayor Robinson. Further, by what authority can the city’s mayor force people to wear masks in city parks? He won’t even enforce the city’s mask ordinance requiring people to wear masks in city businesses. It all seems a bit absurd that the PPD does not have the time or people or money to enforce the city’s panhandling and mask ordinance laws but it can help trample on the Second Amendment. If I were a PPD officer, I would refuse to participate. I hope that some gun stores do set up shop in the Bill Gregory Park parking lot on Saturday to offer a better price to those selling good guns. Tell your favorite gun store about this event. A much better idea would have been to set-up a mini-gun show in the Bayview Park Community Center and let gun stores set up booths and buy firearms from people who need the money to buy more or better firearms. Or, buy the guns and give them to city residents who need them for protection. I plan to use my American Rescue Plan $1,400 to buy three more guns. Under Mayor Robinson’s “leadership,” the city’s per capita crime rate has risen to 56.2% “above” the state level. This is why so many people are moving to Santa Rosa County. The crime rate in the city is 3.7 times that in Santa Rosa County. If you think this new city “program” is a bad idea, contact your state elected officials and demand that they close the “gun buy back and destruction” loophole.
What guns are accepted and is there a dollar amount designated per type of gun?