More than 200 guns collected during Santa Barbara gun buy back event

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Coalition Against Gun Violence, its partner organizations and the Santa Barbara Police Department successfully collected 238 firearms during their gun buy back event on Saturday.

The event was the 6th of its kind locally. Residents were able to turn in unwanted firearms to Santa Barbara police at Earl Warren Showgrounds and receive a gift card to Smart & Final in return.

The Gun Buyback was organized by the Coalition Against Gun Violence (CAGV) and sponsored by the City of Santa Barbara, Democratic Women of Santa Barbara County and Women’s Political Committee of Santa Barbara, among others.

With 238 guns collected in 2021—five of which were assault weapons—Santa Barbara Gun Buyback events have now resulted in the removal of 1,407 guns from the city.

All guns are handled and destroyed by the Santa Barbara Police Department.

“Most illegal guns start as legal guns,” said Santa Barbara County 1st District Supervisor Das Williams. He went on to say that guns inherited from relatives or acquired with the best intentions can just as easily cause tragedy in a household.

While turning in real firearms, some attendees also turned in 20-to-30 “toy guns” that appear real but do not shoot bullets.

Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley said that toy guns made to look real put police officers in real danger. “So many devastating things result from toy guns,” Dudley said.

3rd District Supervisor Gregg Hart praised organizers for their work at the 6th Annual Gun Buyback and the multi-year effort as a lasting community service. “When you do this for six years, the word gets out and people begin to know that there’s this resource out there in the community, so they can plan and think about how to safely dispose of unwanted guns.”

Goleta Mayor Pro Tempore James Kyriaco recalled that in early August, Goodland Guns in Goleta was burglarized and stolen guns remain at large from the incident. He commented that “some will look at the incident and say to themselves ‘I need to get a gun,’ and that’s a sad, self-defeating cycle.’” He said that removing 238 guns from the streets could result in “238 fewer deaths.”