King County lawmakers want to create permanent gun return program

King County has limited options for people to dispose of firearms and ammunition. King County lawmakers want to create a permanent program to fix that.

In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the county council passed a measure directing the executive to consider a year-round gun turn-in program.

Under the measure, the county will assess how feasible it is to pay people for disposing of guns and ammo, and the cost for the county to destroy them.

"Fewer firearms in homes reduces the risk of theft, of firearms falling into wrong hands, and being used in crime," said Councilmember Rod Dembowski, who sponsored the bill. "But also, just the risk that somebody having a really tough time makes that fatal decision to use that firearm on themselves or maybe loved ones. This program is not a be-all-end-all of course, but it is one piece of the puzzle."

The intent is to reduce the number of guns in people's homes, and prevent gun violence.

The measure was initially proposed in June. At the time, council members pointed to recent mass shootings and the rise in local gun violence. Shots fired in the county were up 54% in 2021, shooting victims were up 70%, and fatal shootings were up 54%.

Gun sales have spiked in the region, and nationally, over the past couple years and have stayed at heightened levels. For example, the Seattle Police Department ran 6,707 background checks for gun purchases in 2019. That number more than doubled in 2020 to 15,825 background checks. In 2021, Seattle ran 10,766 checks.

While King County doesn't have a program set up for turning in guns, Kirkland has recently operated its own Gift Cards for Guns program. During an event in June and another in July, Kirkland police handed out more than $18,000 in gift cards for a total of 151 firearms.