San Mateo Police Gun Sale May Follow Gun Buyback

For guns, it's a sellers market -- for the San Mateo County Sheriff.

Sheriff Greg Munks wants to sell off some 700 surplus weapons, from old-duty firearms to pistols soon to become surplus when the department gets new Smith & Wessons, according to the Palo Alto Daily News.

The weapons "could end up in public hands," just a few months after Munks and his department collected about 700 guns in a "buy-back" program, which were melted the weapons down into pipes, the newspaper reported.

The gun sales would be through licensed firearms dealers and at "fair market value," according to the newspaper. The gun sales could net $150,000; the cost of Munks's new guns is $150,000.

But to do it, Munks needs to be above the law: he is asking the Board of Supervisors to change the rules around gun sales. Currently, weapons owned by the county can't be sold off.