$75 Aamco Car Service Offered on Gun Trade-In : Public safety: Ten police departments will exchange the firearms for work certificates. A similar Mighty Ducks program will swap handguns for hockey tickets Feb. 19.
ORANGE — Joining a growing list of organizations in the gun-exchange movement, Aamco Transmissions executives announced Friday that customers can get $75 worth of car service if they turn in a firearm at one of 10 police departments around Orange County.
The announcement comes on the heels of a similar program introduced this week by the Mighty Ducks hockey team. Team officials confirmed Friday that the “Guns for Tickets†exchange will take place Feb. 19.
Anyone bringing a handgun to the Anaheim Police Department between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. would receive two tickets to an as-yet unannounced Mighty Ducks home game.
“The ‘Guns for Tickets’ campaign is patterned after cities and professional sports teams throughout the United States,†said Mighty Ducks President Tony Tavares in a statement. “It is also our way of being a responsible partner in the community. The idea behind this effort is designed to remove unwanted guns from Orange County streets and households in exchange for Mighty Ducks tickets.â€
In Orange, Aamco owner Art Eastman started the company’s gun-exchange program by turning in a gun himself to the Police Department. Ten years ago, Eastman said, a customer gave him the .38-caliber Smith & Wesson as partial payment for a transmission repair. The firearm, along with any others collected in the exchange, will be destroyed, police officials said.
“Like it says in the Bible, every journey starts with one step,†Eastman said, adding that he considers gun exchanges a “crusade†to make the streets safer.
From Monday through Feb. 20, anyone who brings in a gun at one of 10 police departments will receive a $75 certificate good at any Aamco shop in the county.
Police departments in Orange, Tustin, Santa Ana, Brea, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Fullerton and Anaheim are participating in the exchange program.
“This is something our city welcomes very much,†Orange Mayor Fred L. Barrera said at a news conference. “I don’t know how many will be turned in, but every bit helps.â€
So far, another gun-exchange program in Orange, in which people who turn in guns receive a free carwash and wax job at Metro Car Wash, has not netted any weapons, officials said. Costa Mesa police have collected about a half-dozen guns in the same program.
Police officials said they hope the offer of free services will encourage people to bring in unused guns that they may have inherited or kept around just because they didn’t know where to get rid of them. Criminals often steal such guns and then use them in crimes, the officials said.
“If we can eliminate those guns being stolen, it makes a program like this worthwhile,†Irvine Police Sgt. Ron Flathers said. “If there’s an unwanted gun out there, treat it like you would a pet. Take it to a shelter, the police department. The trash is not the place for it.â€
Police officials said they will run a computer check on the serial numbers of guns brought in to see if they have been reported stolen.
Orange police Capt. Gene Hernandez said he hopes the expansion of gun-trade programs will have the same result as widespread no-smoking campaigns have had.
“To be a smoker now is to be a pariah,†Hernandez said. “I see the same thing happening with this program. You’ll see more and more people jumping on the bandwagon.â€
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