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Atlanta ‘gun buyback’ set for June 15

A community group has $30,000 ready to buy back unwanted guns in Atlanta.

The effort is being led by Mt. Ephraim Baptist Church in west Atlanta, the Atlanta Police Department, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, and the group Stop Atlanta Violence Effectively (SAVE).

The church’s pastor, Rev. Dr. R. L. White, says the group bought 900 guns in its first buyback effort two years ago.

White says they have no problem with gun ownership by responsible owners who know how to carry, secure, and handle weapons safely.

"We're not about confiscating guns," says Dr. White. He notes, though, that too often, young people are killed by gunfire in accidents at homes or by stray bullets on the streets.

"I'm the one that has to look in the face of mothers and families, try to give them some words of comfort, in what you know is an impossible task when they see their children lying before the altar," says White.

White says they want to be a medium for people who no longer want their guns, for any reason.

"Anonymity will be there," he says, "because there are some in the criminal element who have those guns and they want to get rid of them. Ours is only to help lessen the number of guns in the streets."

Cpt. Dan Cochran, with the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, says they will pay $50 for working handguns and $100 for working long guns. On-site firearms instructors will check the weapons for functionality, and they will not buy BB or pellet guns.

White and Cochran emphasize that the buyback is a "no questions asked" event.

"We are offering amnesty," says Cpt. Cochran. "We will not ask the names of those who bring their weapons, nor will we create a database with any of their information. We do not intend to have photographers on site.

"We will be checking the weapons in GCIC (Georgia Crime Information Center) to see if there is an owner somewhere of those weapons, but it is in no way to bring any action against the person who surrenders the weapon."

Cochran says the weapons bought, like the ones received in 2015, will be melted. In the previous gun buyback, he says the weapons were tested to see if they were tied to crimes, but they were true to their word and never tried to contact anyone who had sold a weapon to them.

SAVE volunteer Delabia Cameron (top picture, third from right) is the mother of a high school sophomore who was killed Oct. 4, 2015, by a stray bullet nearly two years ago in Union City.

Amira Cameron, 15, was outside with her 13-year-old brother and some friends and listening to music in her headphones when a drive-by battle rolled through their neighborhood. She didn't hear it and was struck in the head by a bullet.

"We're not trying to take guns away from licensed owners," said Mrs. Cameron. "What happened to my daughter? She was 15 years of age and killed in Union City. The guns that were involved have never been found. So hopefully, someone would come forward with those guns. If we could save one other life, that's what I'm a part of."

Cameron says she, her husband, and their son--who saw his sister's murder--are all still in therapy.

Dr. White knows that the gun buyback isn't exactly "justice" for survivors of gun violence.

"We know that there is not justice for them," White says. "The only satisfaction we have is, that gun that has killed somebody or robbed somebody--that gun will never be used again."

White says it took 18 months to raise $30,000. Their goal was $100,000, he says. Even though many business people told him they supported the idea of what the group is trying to do, they declined to give donations to help.

He says some feared that they would alienate customers who might somehow be offended by a gun buyback event.

Most of the donations came church members and other from neighborhood churches.

White notes that he has seen some other city governments in states including Texas and California that have funded gun buybacks, but he says Atlanta lawmakers were not on board with the idea.

The gun buyback will be June 15, 2017, at the Atlanta Civic Center.

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