Santa Ana residents who have guns they want to get rid of can turn them in for a $300 cash gift card.

The police department is holding an anonymous “gun buyback” event on July 23. No ID necessary; no questions asked.

“We’re trying to get guns off the streets in hopes of preventing future violent crimes,” said police spokeswoman, Sgt. Maria Lopez.

In Santa Ana, police held its first “gun buy-back” event in 2013 in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre in Connecticut, which killed 26 people, primarily children. It’s unclear how many weapons the 2013 program yielded.

Other major cities, including Anaheim, have conducted similar programs. In Los Angeles, police bought 267 firearms in April, which included handguns, shotguns, and rifles.

Santa Ana’s event will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 23.  Local residents who want to drop off guns in exchange for a $300 money gift card can do so at the Santa Ana City Yard at 220 South Daisy St.

Gun violence continues to make headlines nationally in the wake of recent horrific mass shootings, including one in a Texas elementary school that killed 19 children and two teachers in May.

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Last month, Congress passed bipartisan gun legislation that includes enhanced background checks for gun buyers younger than 21, allows states to implement or enhance “red flag” laws to deny guns to people deemed dangerous, and other measures that, among other things, support mental health programs and address school security.

When President Joe Biden signed the law on June 25, it was hailed as the most consequential gun legislation in nearly three decades. Earlier this month, Biden said more needs to be done. Gun violence, he said, has turned American communities into “killing fields.”

Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed into law bills that prohibit the gun industry from marketing to children, restrict “ghost gun” firearms that are intentionally made untraceable, and allow Californians to sue gun manufacturers “for an act or omission in violation of the firearm industry standard of conduct.”

Earlier this month, the Fullerton-based California Rifle & Pistol Association and other gun-rights groups filed a lawsuit against Newsom arguing the new law banning the marketing of guns to minors infringes on their First Amendment rights.

Another key development revolving around gun rights came in a June 23 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, which said Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.

While gun control issues are highly divisive, nearly two-thirds of adults who responded to a recent Pew Research poll said they approve of the gun legislation signed into law last month by Biden.

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