Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, Acting San Jose Police Chief Larry Esquivel, Assemblywoman Nora Campos and other officials announced Wednesday a campaign to raise money for a gun buyback program in San Jose on Dec. 14.
Rosen, Esquivel and Campos touted the gun buyback during the fundraiser held Wednesday night at the Rosie McCann's Irish Pub and Restaurant in the Santana Row shopping mall in San Jose.
The buyback is to be held at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church at 2020 E. San Antonio St. in San Jose on Dec. 14, the one-year anniversary of the shooting that killed 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
It will be the first gun buyback held by the city of San Jose since 1995, Esquivel said.
San Jose police started thinking about reviving it last year, prior to the two public gun buybacks organized in March by Santa Clara County, Esquivel said.
The county paid gun owners $114,000 for 1,116 handguns and rifles at a buyback held on March 2 and then doled out $61,150 of remaining funds to purchase 610 guns on March 23. All of the guns were destroyed.
"It's been such a long time, and I can't tell you why, but it's important for us to partner with not only our elected officials and the district attorney's office, but also with our community," Esquivel said.
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"We're catching up," Esquivel said. "Getting guns off the street that would potentially be used in a crime, that's a win."
Rosen recounted the recent mass shootings in the United States, including 32 people killed at Virginia Tech in 2007, 12 in Aurora, Colo. in 2012 and the one at Sandy Hook last year.
"Those are shootings that got our attention," Rosen said. "They happened all at once. But here in the city of San Jose, we have a Sandy Hook every year. We had more than two dozen gun homicides last year."
"And somehow, maybe it doesn't seem shocking to us because it happens bit by bit," Rosen said. "But it is shocking, it's awful and it is terrible. And I'm really thrilled that we are all doing something about it."
Rosen said the district attorney's office plans to donate to the buy back program $10,000 in funds seized from drug traffickers and other criminals.
"It's taking their ill-gotten gains and turning it around and using it to reduce crime," he said.
Fewer guns in circulation also would mean fewer available that contribute to suicides, violence from domestic and neighborhood disputes, accidental shootings by children and shootings or threats against police officers, he said.
Campos said that San Jose has had 43 homicides so far this year but few know "how many people have actually been shot and survived. To me that is still violence. We know that someone is still being victimized by a gun."
"We as a community collectively have to continue to bring this to light and say will not allow this to happen in our community anymore," Campos said. "We here in San Jose are not going to stand for guns being in the wrong hands."
