Help me turn these swords (ahem, guns) to plowshares
August 23, 2024 12:26 PM Subscribe
How can I have 26 guns melted down or otherwise destroyed in Southern California?
My aunt passed away and I am having some difficulty figuring out how to have a couple dozen rifles, shotguns, revolvers, and pistols located at her home in San Bernardino County, CA destroyed. I am the trustee of her trust, so I'm the person empowered to deal with them.
I tried today to turn them over to the Sheriff, because it is what my aunt asked to be done with them--given to the Sheriff to be destroyed. However, the Sheriff's deputy I spoke with said that they don't have room in their evidence locker for more guns, and that they would likely just sell the guns to a pawn shop anyway, if I turned them over to them.
(During a second phone call, he said he actually wasn't certain if they sell surrendered guns or not, and said I should sell them to a broker or dealer myself, but said he didn't know whether I needed to transfer registration or how one could do so. Sure, ACAB, but what about All Cops Share a Certain Air of Bureaucratic Incompetence (ACSCABI).)
Here's what I'd like:
1. For the guns to be destroyed.
2. Ideally, for their destruction not to involve crossing County lines or entering less gun-friendly political jurisdictions. But could maybe be convinced otherwise. I don't have any way to store them legally in a car and honestly I don't even know if they're loaded or how to deal with that whole universe of questions.
3. Not to be personally carrying out the destruction of these guns -- I'm not going to purchase or use a blowtorch.
I'm willing to pay a reasonable fee. If, after all things are considered, it makes the most sense to find a responsible dealer to sell them to, I'd like to do so in a way that is totally above board and leaves me and the estate with no liability. (I don't know if the guns are registered, I assume that some are and some are not, and I have no clue how to transfer registration and would rather not have to deal with that.)
I am confident that my aunt's wishes were for the guns to be destroyed, but that she would accept sale of the guns to a responsible dealer if getting them junked is too onerous. For my part I'd rather remove them from census of 300+ million guns in the US, unless it's impossible or would require me to take on a bunch of travel and liability with them.
My aunt passed away and I am having some difficulty figuring out how to have a couple dozen rifles, shotguns, revolvers, and pistols located at her home in San Bernardino County, CA destroyed. I am the trustee of her trust, so I'm the person empowered to deal with them.
I tried today to turn them over to the Sheriff, because it is what my aunt asked to be done with them--given to the Sheriff to be destroyed. However, the Sheriff's deputy I spoke with said that they don't have room in their evidence locker for more guns, and that they would likely just sell the guns to a pawn shop anyway, if I turned them over to them.
(During a second phone call, he said he actually wasn't certain if they sell surrendered guns or not, and said I should sell them to a broker or dealer myself, but said he didn't know whether I needed to transfer registration or how one could do so. Sure, ACAB, but what about All Cops Share a Certain Air of Bureaucratic Incompetence (ACSCABI).)
Here's what I'd like:
1. For the guns to be destroyed.
2. Ideally, for their destruction not to involve crossing County lines or entering less gun-friendly political jurisdictions. But could maybe be convinced otherwise. I don't have any way to store them legally in a car and honestly I don't even know if they're loaded or how to deal with that whole universe of questions.
3. Not to be personally carrying out the destruction of these guns -- I'm not going to purchase or use a blowtorch.
I'm willing to pay a reasonable fee. If, after all things are considered, it makes the most sense to find a responsible dealer to sell them to, I'd like to do so in a way that is totally above board and leaves me and the estate with no liability. (I don't know if the guns are registered, I assume that some are and some are not, and I have no clue how to transfer registration and would rather not have to deal with that.)
I am confident that my aunt's wishes were for the guns to be destroyed, but that she would accept sale of the guns to a responsible dealer if getting them junked is too onerous. For my part I'd rather remove them from census of 300+ million guns in the US, unless it's impossible or would require me to take on a bunch of travel and liability with them.
What condition are the guns in and what type of guns are we talking about? Most police departments that I’m familiar with tend to handle guns differently depending on if they’re the type of guns generally favored by the poor versus those that the middle class tend to own and buy - they destroy the former and sell the latter, because they are less worried about the latter turning up in subsequent crimes.
posted by corb at 12:55 PM on August 23 [1 favorite]
posted by corb at 12:55 PM on August 23 [1 favorite]
It seems sort of counter intuitive, but a local gun range might be able to help you. They'll know the rules and regulations on handling them and probably even who to turn them into.
posted by Art_Pot at 12:56 PM on August 23 [3 favorites]
posted by Art_Pot at 12:56 PM on August 23 [3 favorites]
any kind of hobbyist metalworker (that’s putting it strongly) can make them nonfunctional. Taking a hacksaw or a drill with a cheap carbide bit to the chamber isn’t a repair that’s worth anyone’s time to fix. It’s about 5 seconds per gun on a bandsaw.
posted by supercres at 1:44 PM on August 23 [4 favorites]
posted by supercres at 1:44 PM on August 23 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Rawtools.org, Swords to Plowshares Program
Lead to Life, an activists/artists' collective in Atlanta, accepted firearms and melted them down to make shovels [2018 HuffPo article]; they're now called BAKINE, and I don't know if they still take such donations.
In trying to find a donation outlet, turned up: The Guns Were Said to Be Destroyed. Instead, They Were Reborn. (NYT, Dec. 10, 2023) Communities across the U.S. are fueling a secondary arms market by giving seized and surrendered guns to disposal services that destroy one part and resell the rest.
Which mentions this California-based company, gunbuybacks.org, that will dispatch couriers (service areas unclear): Jeff McCabe, a house painter with a firearms license in Orange County, Calif., started a side business, California Gun Services, to resell weapons. His buyback website says its goal is “to limit the number of cheap, dangerous or unwanted guns in our local community” by destroying them — unless they have historical “or significant monetary value.”
Mr. McCabe said that navigating the politicized environment around guns can be challenging. On one hand, he said, “there’s those, ‘You can pry it out of my dead cold hands’ Republicans,” and on the other, “there’s the liberals who think nobody should ever own a firearm.”
“I’m trying to be somewhere in the middle,” he added.
The other business name turning up is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, National Center for Unwanted Firearms, "founded by former Secret Service agents."
A 2018 Huffington Post article.
A 2019 California Sunday Magazine (outlet is now defunct) lengthy profile
They're in Montana, and the logo for this organization is giving off some vibes, but that may just be me. From the FAQ: I inherited the family firearms collection and know very little about them. I’m reluctant to even handle them for safety purposes and would like to know how your organization could assist. How will I know what to say if I call (833) Giv-Guns?
A: If you are reluctant to handle the firearms you can take a photo and e-mail or text it to the National Center for Unwanted Firearms while speaking to a Firearms Specialist.
We have volunteers and Law enforcement Personnel all over the US who can assist you to see if they are unloaded and even help box and send them once we have set up a transaction number and sent a special shipping label to you.
The Robby Poblete Foundation's Art of Peace program (turning firearms into art material) may run cyclically. Looking through the sites of the Giffords Law Center, Brady California, Everytown, and The Trace, Guns Down America (new to me), so far without success; these and similar organizations might be worth contacting for ideas. If a professional could come out and make sure the guns are unloaded, I'd like to think they could be crushed in a junkyard, or at the police station in Long Beach, which invested in its own crusher.
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:48 PM on August 23 [33 favorites]
Lead to Life, an activists/artists' collective in Atlanta, accepted firearms and melted them down to make shovels [2018 HuffPo article]; they're now called BAKINE, and I don't know if they still take such donations.
In trying to find a donation outlet, turned up: The Guns Were Said to Be Destroyed. Instead, They Were Reborn. (NYT, Dec. 10, 2023) Communities across the U.S. are fueling a secondary arms market by giving seized and surrendered guns to disposal services that destroy one part and resell the rest.
Which mentions this California-based company, gunbuybacks.org, that will dispatch couriers (service areas unclear): Jeff McCabe, a house painter with a firearms license in Orange County, Calif., started a side business, California Gun Services, to resell weapons. His buyback website says its goal is “to limit the number of cheap, dangerous or unwanted guns in our local community” by destroying them — unless they have historical “or significant monetary value.”
Mr. McCabe said that navigating the politicized environment around guns can be challenging. On one hand, he said, “there’s those, ‘You can pry it out of my dead cold hands’ Republicans,” and on the other, “there’s the liberals who think nobody should ever own a firearm.”
“I’m trying to be somewhere in the middle,” he added.
The other business name turning up is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, National Center for Unwanted Firearms, "founded by former Secret Service agents."
A 2018 Huffington Post article.
A 2019 California Sunday Magazine (outlet is now defunct) lengthy profile
They're in Montana, and the logo for this organization is giving off some vibes, but that may just be me. From the FAQ: I inherited the family firearms collection and know very little about them. I’m reluctant to even handle them for safety purposes and would like to know how your organization could assist. How will I know what to say if I call (833) Giv-Guns?
A: If you are reluctant to handle the firearms you can take a photo and e-mail or text it to the National Center for Unwanted Firearms while speaking to a Firearms Specialist.
We have volunteers and Law enforcement Personnel all over the US who can assist you to see if they are unloaded and even help box and send them once we have set up a transaction number and sent a special shipping label to you.
The Robby Poblete Foundation's Art of Peace program (turning firearms into art material) may run cyclically. Looking through the sites of the Giffords Law Center, Brady California, Everytown, and The Trace, Guns Down America (new to me), so far without success; these and similar organizations might be worth contacting for ideas. If a professional could come out and make sure the guns are unloaded, I'd like to think they could be crushed in a junkyard, or at the police station in Long Beach, which invested in its own crusher.
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:48 PM on August 23 [33 favorites]
Taking your statement “I don’t want to use a blowtorch” very likely too literally, you could get hold of an electric induction forge to melt and bend the barrels without a naked flame or heating anything but the barrels themselves (by placing them on the inside of a large electric coil).
If you want a symbolic destruction ceremony but not too much risk that seems feasible.
posted by ambrosen at 6:07 AM on August 24
If you want a symbolic destruction ceremony but not too much risk that seems feasible.
posted by ambrosen at 6:07 AM on August 24
Be aware that some companies involved in allegedly destroying guns don't actually do so.
For example, an investigation by the New York Times found that some guns collected at buybacks "made their way to a private company that has collected millions of dollars taking firearms from police agencies, destroying a single piece of each weapon stamped with the serial number and selling the rest as nearly complete gun kits. Buyers online can easily replace what’s missing and reconstitute the weapon."
posted by NotLost at 7:11 AM on August 24
For example, an investigation by the New York Times found that some guns collected at buybacks "made their way to a private company that has collected millions of dollars taking firearms from police agencies, destroying a single piece of each weapon stamped with the serial number and selling the rest as nearly complete gun kits. Buyers online can easily replace what’s missing and reconstitute the weapon."
posted by NotLost at 7:11 AM on August 24
Regarding whether the guns are loaded - if you’re not confident checking, a dealer may be willing to come and check for you. I’ve known some who will check out inherited gun collections in person, but they’re all in Washington and can’t help with this one.
posted by centrifugal at 9:21 AM on August 24 [1 favorite]
posted by centrifugal at 9:21 AM on August 24 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Please make sure that someone on-site is familiar enough with firearms to safely ensure that each and every one is unloaded and safe, before handling or transporting them.
I had a similar question a few years back, what to do with a relative's gun collection, while wanting to reduce (even if by a little) the number of guns in the world. I did not trust a third party to actually destroy them, instead of reselling them. The county Sheriff advised me that, while destroying them, after ensuring they're all unloaded and empty, if my first act was to render them inoperable and unusable, I'd be fine and not accidentally run afoul of any laws regarding illegal modification (say, by creating a sawn-off shotgun, a short-barreled rifle, etc.)
I used a cheap portable metal bandsaw ("porta-band") to cut through the chamber/action portion of each firearm. This rendered the weapon useless, and I could then separate the wood/plastic bits from the steel bits, and recycle them appropriately. The local steel recycler was fine accepting them, but preferred they be cut into smaller pieces so that there was no question for anyone involved that these were all utterly useless except as scrap.
posted by xedrik at 6:29 PM on August 24 [2 favorites]
I had a similar question a few years back, what to do with a relative's gun collection, while wanting to reduce (even if by a little) the number of guns in the world. I did not trust a third party to actually destroy them, instead of reselling them. The county Sheriff advised me that, while destroying them, after ensuring they're all unloaded and empty, if my first act was to render them inoperable and unusable, I'd be fine and not accidentally run afoul of any laws regarding illegal modification (say, by creating a sawn-off shotgun, a short-barreled rifle, etc.)
I used a cheap portable metal bandsaw ("porta-band") to cut through the chamber/action portion of each firearm. This rendered the weapon useless, and I could then separate the wood/plastic bits from the steel bits, and recycle them appropriately. The local steel recycler was fine accepting them, but preferred they be cut into smaller pieces so that there was no question for anyone involved that these were all utterly useless except as scrap.
posted by xedrik at 6:29 PM on August 24 [2 favorites]
Mod note: [This interesting question (and Iris Gambol's and xedrik's answers) have been added to the sidebar and Best Of blog!]
posted by taz (staff) at 1:26 AM on August 25
posted by taz (staff) at 1:26 AM on August 25
Response by poster: Just checking back in with an interim report here. I called the Raw Tools org and it seems like they are going to try to help. I believe they have some people in their network of gun-disablers who are in Southern CA, and maybe I can convince someone to come out to the desert to help. Thanks, Iris Gambol! (and also everyone else)
Apparently they are an org that started in the aftermath of Sandy Hook, and part of their deal is trying to have some healing impact for people by turning guns, included those used in violent incidents, into metal gifts of some sort.
posted by kensington314 at 2:24 PM on August 26 [1 favorite]
Apparently they are an org that started in the aftermath of Sandy Hook, and part of their deal is trying to have some healing impact for people by turning guns, included those used in violent incidents, into metal gifts of some sort.
posted by kensington314 at 2:24 PM on August 26 [1 favorite]
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posted by Dr. Wu at 12:53 PM on August 23 [1 favorite]