Parkland parent organization 4FNOW is sponsoring a voluntary gun buyback program in exchange for Publix gift cards in Coral Springs on Saturday, Sept. 15 with the help of the Coral Springs Police Department.
4FNOW is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization started by parents of Parkland public school students or alumni. “4F” is an acronym for “fewer firearms, fewer funerals.” The organization’s goal is to “keep kids safe from gun violence,” according to its website, by “remov[ing] unwanted, unneeded guns from our community.”
Saturday’s gun buyback is 4FNOW’s first event of its kind, though there have been other gun buybacks in South Florida in recent months and years.
“Many times, our citizens have firearms that they no longer use, or want, and they don’t know how to properly dispose of them,” said Coral Springs Police Chief Clyde Parry. “Our gun buyback program is a great way for our citizens to turn in unused or unwanted firearms.”
The buyback is completely anonymous, with no ID required. Gift cards will be offered for operational firearms worth up to $100 for shotguns and antique firearms, up to $150 for handguns and rifles and up to $250 for semi-automatic rifles.
The buyback will be at the Coral Springs City Hall parking garage, 9500 Sample Road, on Saturday, Sept. 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
All guns must be unloaded and left in the trunk of a car. No other weapons or ammunition are permitted.
Anyone who wishes to turn in an unwanted or unneeded gun that cannot attend the buyback can still bring it to the Coral Springs Police Department. Guns must be unloaded and in a case or kept in the trunk of their car until the owners talks to an officer.
“Any time we can take guns off the street, we decrease the chance that they fall into the hands of a criminal who would use them to harm our citizens or commit crimes,” Parry said. “I encourage anyone who may have inherited a firearm, has a gun that they no longer want or has a gun that they do not need to participate in our gun buyback program.”
Call Lt. Joe McHugh of the Coral Springs Police Department at 954-346-1750 or email jmchugh@coralsprings.org.
