In an effort to safely remove unwanted guns from people’s houses, Old Saybrook is considering hosting a gun giveback program with amnesty. The exact dates and times of the program are still being worked out.

Gun giveback programs allow for people who have guns they no longer want — be it one they purchased on their own or one they came into possession of through other means — to be safely, easily, and legally disposed of.

Members of the Board of Selectmen (BOS) and the Board of Finance (BOF) briefly debated the issue of doing a gun buyback program at recent meetings. At a BOF meeting on Sept. 20, the BOF declined to move ahead with a buyback program but agreed the town can move ahead with a giveback program. With a gun buyback program, people returning weapons are given money in exchange for firearms. In a gun giveback program, however, guns are freely surrendered with no monetary compensation.

Under the program, a designated time and place is set for people to donate their guns. The event would be supervised by the Old Saybrook Police Department. According to Police Chief Michael Spera, turned in guns would be taken to the state crime lab to be analyzed to see if the gun had been used in any crimes. It would then be destroyed. No date has been set for the event yet.

Spera said he was in favor of the program but needs to check with the State’s Attorney’s office on the parameters that need to be in place relating to amnesty issues. Typically, if a person donates a gun and a subsequent check reveals the weapon to be stolen, the person is arrested. With amnesty, however, the person would not arrested. Spera said there may be provisions that voids that amnesty clause if a check reveals the gun was used in a more serious crime.

The idea of holding this kind of program was first broached at an Aug. 23 BOS meeting. At that meeting, Selectman Matt Pugliese suggested the town look into doing a gun buyback program and made a motion to appropriate $7,500 from the fiscal year 2022 surplus for the program. Pugliese suggested unspent funds be given back to the town. The motion passed unanimously and was discussed at two follow-up BOF meetings.

“After the events in Uvalde, the police department, school district, [the] Board of Selectmen and Police Commission had been in communication regarding our current operations and protocols for security,” Pugliese told the Harbor News. “Chief Spera made a few possible recommendations for some other ‘low-hanging fruit-type’ possible steps. I felt that it was worth pursuing and continuing the conversation to take action on a gun buyback or giveback program — however simple — in the interest of public safety. I felt that was our responsibility as town leaders.”

During one BOF meeting, Pugliese also added a tragic reason for his interest in the event.

“For me this is personal. I’ve had two family members end their lives with a firearm,” he said.

Giveback vs. Buyback

At the BOF meeting on Sept. 20, it was agreed that if the giveback program was not providing the kind of results as anticipated the board could revisit possibly doing a buyback program.

Under a buyback program. Pugliese said that people are given anything from $10 for returning a BB gun to $250 for turning in a rifle. Spera said a privately funded program in Guilford saw about 200 guns turned in.

However not every member of the BOF was in favor of a buyback or using town funds for it. BOF member Brad Thorpe argued that drugs pose more of a threat to Old Saybrook residents than gun violence and said he felt not enough attention was paid to that. Thorpe also pointed out that there are gun shops in the area that buy guns already and said was worried a buyback program could take business away from the small business.

While he was in favor of the program, Spera also said he understood that there is a “political stigma” attached with gun buybacks. Spera reiterated during the meeting that while he thinks buybacks are a public safety mechanism and not a political action, it might not be received well due to gun rights being a hyper partisan issue.

Spera said that if the BOF approved the funding for the program it would then have to be approved at a town meeting. Spera said he feared that that town meeting would turn into a political debate about gun rights ahead of the midterm elections and detract from what was happening in Old Saybrook.

Rather than have that happen, Spera asked for a compromise where the town runs the giveback program with no monetary rewards attached. The town can evaluate the success of the program and if it’s felt that a monetary reward would bolster turnout the issue can be revisited.