HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL. – For citizens who no longer want the responsibility that comes with gun ownership, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is hosting a buyback event that will safely dispose of any unwanted firearms.
HCSO’s “Drive & Drop Gun Swap” will be held at two locations Saturday, September 12, 2020, from 8:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. Deputies will be accepting firearms at the Falkenburg Road Jail, located at 520 N Falkenburg Road, and at the Hillsborough County West Service Unit, located at 9805 Sheldon Road.
The event will be held rain or shine.
Anybody wanting to drop off their unwanted firearm is invited to attend. The “Drive & Drop Gun Swap” is an anonymous event, so there are no questions asked and no paperwork to sign. Those who are turning in firearms are asked to stay in their vehicle and to not handle any guns. They should either be left in the trunk or back seat, be unloaded, and in the off position. For each gun turned in, deputies will present $50.00.
This event comes at no cost to taxpayers and is funded by the Law Enforcement Trust Fund. The LETF was established to allow law enforcement agencies in Florida to seize and forfeit any contraband that has been used in the commissions of felonies. These proceeds can then be used by the law enforcement agency for community programs like crime prevention and drug abuse education.
“Our ‘Drive & Drop Gun Swap’ is a completely voluntary event,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “Our deputies are not soliciting guns from people, nor are we asking anyone to relinquish their Second Amendment rights. This event simply offers a convenient way for people who no longer want these weapons in their homes to safely dispose of them. It eliminates the chance an unwanted firearm is stolen or gets into the hands of a criminal or a child who doesn’t know how to correctly handle a firearm.”
HCSO has held the gun buyback event twice before, in 2013 and 2018. Combined, the two events collected more than 3,600 firearms.
