Nearly 500 guns were collected Saturday during a Ceasefire Oregon gun turn-in event in the Centennial neighborhood.
Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation officials said the group collected 485 guns, including two semiautomatic assault rifles.
Members of the public turned in the guns in exchange for gift cards from Safeway or Fred Meyer stores.
Since 1994, the group has collected a total of 7,787 guns. No gun turn-in event was held in 2009.
The highest number turned in was 1,069 in 1998. The lowest was 95 in 2005. Last year, 223 guns were turned in.
Saturdays event was held at Lynwood Friends Church, 835 S.E. 162nd Ave. In addition to Ceasefire Oregons Education Foundation, the event was sponsored by the Portland Police Bureau, Mayor Charlie Hales, the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, Multnomah County and the Rosewood Initiative.
Across the street from the event, several people protested the gun turn-in with signs saying they would buy the weapons for cash to keep them from being destroyed.
I do not know why people would want to protest a gun turn-in, said Penny Okamoto, executive director for Ceasefire Oregon. It is, after all, the judgment of the gun owner to determine what happens to his or her weapon. Some people were there with the hope of buying guns. We can only hope that background checks were done before the purchase was made.
