The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office has launched a program that allows people to turn in unwanted firearms for cash cards of $50 up to $300.
Known as Whatcom Safe Exchange, the program is voluntary and anonymous. Firearms will be dropped off at the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office in Bellingham.
“Many residents have firearms they simply no longer want in their homes,” Whatcom County Sheriff Donnell “Tank” Tanksley said in a news release, adding that the program provides a safe “way for individuals to dispose of firearms, reducing the risk of theft, accidents or misuse.”
Participants make an appointment to drop off their unloaded firearms for cash cards; the amount they receive is based on the type of firearm they turn in — ranging from $50 for a firearm that doesn’t work to $300 for an AR-15, AK-47 or machine gun.
Deputies trained in safe firearm handling will secure the firearms.
Firearms that can be turned in are handguns, rifles, shotguns, assault-style weapons and antique or inherited firearms.
Ammunition or explosives will not be accepted.
Money for the program comes from $125,000 awarded to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office — one of 12 law enforcement agencies in the state to receive funding — by the Washington State Attorney General’s Office for gun violence prevention efforts. It will continue until the grant funding runs out.
The sheriff’s office said the program is not part of a new criminal investigation effort.
“This is about safety, not enforcement,” Tanksley said.
Find more details at WhatcomSafeExchange.org or call the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office at 360-778-6670.
