Local Police Agencies Accept Unwanted Guns Saturday
NORRISTOWN PA – Law enforcement personnel at five western Montgomery County locations will be available Saturday (Nov. 19, 2022) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to accept area residents’ unwanted firearms, during the second of two free gun turn-in events organized by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office. The first was held Wednesday (Nov. 16).
The event, labeled by District Attorney Kevin Steele as “Operation Safe Homes,” is intended as a public service; there will be no payment for the guns. All unloaded firearms will be accepted, and all collected firearms will be destroyed. No bullets, magazines, or clips will be accepted, his announcement said.
“Firearms are now the number one cause of death for children. That is a sickening statistic. Millions of homes have firearms. Many of those firearms are loaded and not in a gun safe, but ‘hidden.’ Studies show children know where the family keeps a firearm,” Steele said. “We’ll accept those guns … and maybe save some lives in the process.”
Among 13 police agencies participating as gun turn-in locations on both days are the:
- Marlborough Police Department, 6040 Upper Ridge Rd., Green Lane;
- New Hanover Police Department, 2373 Hoffmansville Rd., Frederick;
- Pennsylvania State Police at the Troop K Skippack Barracks, 2047C Bridge Rd., Schwenksville;
- Pottstown Borough Police Department, 100 E. High St., Pottstown; and
- Upper Providence Police, 1286 Black Rock Rd., Oaks.
Also participating are departments in Abington, East Norriton, Hatfield, Lower Merion, Plymouth, Springfield, Upper Dublin, and Upper Merion. For more information about the “Operation Safe Homes” event, residents can call the county Detective Bureau at 610-278-3368.
Similar events were held in 2018 and 2019, Steele said. “Let me be very clear,” he added, “we are not taking guns away from anyone. This is a community service to any gun-owning resident who has decided to get guns out of their house and permanently off the street. It doesn’t matter what type of firearm, from long guns to pistols. We’ll take them and destroy them by melting them down.”
Photo via Getty Images and Unsplash Plus, used under license
