Nationwide Gun Buyback Act of 2002

The Nationwide Gun Buyback Act of 2002 (H.R. 4674) was a legislative proposal designed to provide federal funding to local governments for the purpose of operating gun buyback programs. Under this bill, the Department of the Treasury would issue grants to cities and counties to purchase firearms from individuals, with the goal of reducing the number of guns in circulation in areas with high rates of gun violence.

For citizens, this bill would have facilitated local opportunities to voluntarily surrender firearms to law enforcement in exchange for compensation, such as cash or vouchers. The legislation required that any guns collected be safely destroyed or donated to museums, and it mandated that local governments provide amnesty to participants to ensure they would not face prosecution for the possession of the surrendered weapons. Although the bill was introduced and referred to a subcommittee, it did not move forward to become law.