A Northern Virginia community is acting in response to the recent mass shootings across the country.
Dumfries approved an ordinance to allow for a gun buyback program, but not everyone in the community is buying in.
Council members backing the measure say they wanted to act locally after watching one mass shooting tragedy after another in recent weeks.
“Within Virginia, if you want to provide any incentive for people to bring back their undesired firearms, you have to have a local ordinance, and so it’s really that incentive portion,” Town Manager Keith Rogers said.
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He emphasized people who have unwanted guns can already surrender them to the police department but don’t get anything in return.
Prince George’s County and D.C. have had gun buyback programs in the past, but In Dumfries, while the new ordinance enables buybacks, an event has yet to be scheduled.
“What that could look like is our police department partnering with a nonprofit agency and having a community event where we say we’ll be here on this day, if you have a … firearm that you no longer have a desire for, come out, free coffee and breakfast, for example,” Rogers said.
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At the Dumfries Town Council meeting, some argued a gun buyback isn’t needed because Dumfries doesn’t have a big problem with gun violence.
“This ordinance attempts to chase an issue that I don’t think really exists in the town,” mayoral candidate Ebony Lofton said.
Dumfries’ mayor said the ordinance is just another tool to try to keep residents safe.
Dumfries police did respond to a shooting incident Thursday. It does not appear anyone was wounded but multiple shell casings were found at the scene.
