Activism

Marin to Host Gun Buy-Back Event June 4

According to the Centers for Disease Control, there was an historic increase in gun deaths in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gun-related homicides have risen by 35% since 2019, the CDC reported on May 10. More than 45,000 Americans died from guns in 2020 and more than half of those were suicides.

Published

3 years ago

May 28, 2022

Oakland Post

Part of a collection of guns turned in at a previous buy-back event.

DA’s Office, law enforcement, other stakeholders have eye on public safety

Courtesy of Marin County

Marin County’s effort to enhance safety in the community includes the goal of collecting and disposing of unwanted and unneeded firearms. On June 4, the Marin County District Attorney’s Office, the City of San Rafael, and local law enforcement agencies are conducting a gun buy-back event at the sheriff’s headquarters in San Rafael.

The collaborating agencies are working to help reduce gun violence, the risk of accidental discharges, domestic violence, suicide, and gun theft by encouraging people to voluntarily turn in or sell guns they no longer want in their homes. All guns collected will be destroyed.

District Attorney Lori E. Frugoli noted that firearms are not only used impulsively for self-harm but can be used against gun owners in their own homes. About 25% of guns used in crimes are stolen, which is one of the reasons why free gun locks will be available at the San Rafael buy-back event. Also, the presence of firearms in a household can only increase the danger of domestic violence, especially against women. A woman is five times more likely to be killed at the hands of her batterer if there is a firearm in the household.

According to the California Department of Justice, 2,500 firearms were sold in Marin between 2019 and 2020. Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30, 2021, 719 firearms were sold in Marin.

“Law enforcement statistics show that Marin is a safe place to live, and we want to keep it that way,” Frugoli said. “The gun buy-back program is an opportunity for those who wish to dispose of their firearms to ensure the weapons are out of our community. It is also a time to have a conversation with family and friends about gun safety and reflect upon whether they want guns in their homes and, if so, how to store them safely.”

The event will take place in the parking lot of the sheriff’s office at 1600 Los Gamos Drive in northern San Rafael, just off the Lucas Valley Road / Smith Ranch Road exit on Highway 101. The buy-back station will be behind the main building, or on its east side, closest to 101. Signage will be in placed along Los Gamos Drive on the day of the event.

From 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., organizers will offer $100 for functional handguns, rifles, and shotguns, and $200 for semi-automatic weapons. No questions will be asked and showing identification will not be necessary. The drive-up event is limited to three operable firearms per person. All weapons must be brought to the buy-back event in vehicle trunks. Boxed ammunition will be accepted as well.

Sean Stephens, Marin County Veterans Services Officer, said families of military veterans often don’t know what to do with firearms when a veteran dies.

“Often, gun buy-backs are painted as an effort to take guns away from people, when in reality they are a means to protect the guns from getting into the wrong hands,” he said. “This is especially important information when it comes to gun owners passing away. Gun buy-backs provide a safe, effective way to dispose of unwanted weapons.”

There are an estimated 100,000 firearms stored in Marin, raising concerns about the safety of law-abiding gun owners and their families. Not enough of the weapons and ammunition are locked up, leaving them vulnerable to the hands of young kids, people in emotional distress, or those intent on violence against others. All guns should be locked up with only an adult having access to the key or electronic access code, and ammunition should be locked up separately.

Call (415) 485-3070 with questions about the buy-back event or about obtaining gun locks.

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Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

3 days ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.