I am truly proud of what we accomplished together at Saturday’s Rockville Gun Buyback and especially grateful to our amazing Rockville City Police Department for making it possible. Working alongside the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, our officers collected 323 firearms at RedGate Park on November 7, bringing the program’s five-year total to 1,404 firearms.

Among the weapons that I personally witnessed collected were multiple ghost guns, multiple illegal automatic firearms, at least one gun confirmed to have been stolen, and even a grenade launcher. Safely receiving and handling that range of weapons requires training, care, and attention to detail, and I appreciate the professionalism our RCPD officers and staff bring to this work.

As a Wootton parent whose son was at school during the February 9 shooting, this issue is deeply personal to me. Police identified the firearm believed to have been used in that shooting as a ghost gun. I remain grateful for our RCPD’s response that day, and I am proud to support their ongoing work to protect our schools and neighborhoods and provide safe ways for families to surrender unwanted firearms.

I want every resident who no longer wants a firearm in their home to have a safe and straightforward way to turn it over to police. Even a gun sitting unused in a home can be stolen and used in a crime, or found and accidentally fired by a child, with devastating consequences. Giving families a safe way to surrender those unwanted firearms helps reduce those risks, and I am proud that our RCPD makes that possible.. Giving our neighbors a responsible way to remove an unwanted gun is a practical service I am glad our city provides. Saturday’s collection exceeded last year’s by 20 firearms, building on the work our officers, community partners, and participating residents have sustained since the program began in 2022.

Saturday's event offered $100 or $200 gift cards for eligible functioning firearms, and residents could also surrender nonfunctioning firearms for safe disposal. People could participate voluntarily and anonymously, with no identification required. Surrendered firearms are generally designated for destruction, while guns identified as stolen are referred to the law enforcement agency that reported the theft for appropriate follow-up.

My sincere thanks go to our RCPD officers and staff and State’s Attorney John McCarthy and his team for organizing this event and providing this service to our community. I also thank Congressman Jamie Raskin for, once again, promoting the event and helping us spread the word, and everyone who participated by turning in an unwanted firearm.

Rockville is fortunate to have a police department so committed to serving our community. I will continue working to ensure our officers have the support and resources they need to keep our residents safe (including funds for future Gun Buyback events), and I am proud to stand behind our RCPD staff and officers who do so much for our city.