People were lined up this morning outside the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office substation in Trenton, seeking to redeem IOUs issued during last weekend's gun buyback.
People lined up outside the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office substation in Trenton today to redeem IOUs issued during last weekend's gun buyback.
TRENTON — Lining up outside the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office substation in the cold under intermittent light snowfall, dozens of area residents owed cash from last weekend's gun buyback arrived with their IOUs in hand.
The $200,000 that the state Attorney General's Office approved for the two-day buyback ran out by the afternoon of Jan. 26, the program's second day. Officials at the two city churches that served as dropoff sites resorted to giving out vouchers, which can be reclaimed for cash until 8 p.m. today.
People started arriving even before the scheduled noon start time at the prosecutor's office substation on Lamberton Road today. Most were understanding of the wait, but skeptical of the buyback's total impact.
"The wrong people turned in the guns," Ewing resident James Taliafero said.
In total, 2,603 firearms and an anti-tank rocket launcher were taken in, with rewards of up to $250 per weapon. The attorney general's office said $324,000 was spent or promised.
Others who were waiting outside the prosecutor's office commented that the small crowd lining up today didn't seem to include any gang members. One man said he handed in two guns and used the money he was promised to buy a new shotgun at a gun show in Philadelphia last Sunday.
In a statement issued this afternoon, the attorney general's office disagreed with the criticism.
"If the turnouts we’ve seen, and the comments we’ve overheard, are any indication, the majority of New Jersey citizens are behind this gun buyback initiative," the statement said. "That’s because they recognize that having fewer guns on the streets can only help us to reduce the number of people being maimed or killed by gun violence."
Those with vouchers can redeem them until 8 p.m. at the prosecutor's office, 1589 Lamberton Road in Trenton.