Prosecutors with the AG真人百家乐 County District Attorney鈥檚 office on Wednesday will begin asking judges to require that some offenders release and surrender firearms as a condition of their bond.
District Attorney Jos茅 Garza said prosecutors will make the request for people at high-risk of reoffending to ensure they 鈥渄on't have access to a firearm while their case is pending, or while they are on community supervision.鈥�
鈥淪tarting today, we have protocols in place to ensure that surrender happens,鈥� he said Wednesday. 鈥淎nd to ensure those firearms are safely stored and that a person accused does not have access to them.鈥�
AG真人百家乐 County Attorney Delia Garza said her office implemented a similar firearm surrender policy in March. It requires offenders in certain cases 鈥� including family violence or those who pose a threat to a crime victim or the public 鈥� to forfeit firearms within 48 hours as a condition of their bond.
鈥淭his includes cases that involved the use of a firearm, the presence of a firearm, threats of violence and threats of suicide,鈥� she said.
Garza said getting firearms away from offenders in a timely manner is 鈥渁n essential dynamic鈥� to reducing further violence.
鈥淲e know that an abuser's access to a firearm poses a serious threat to victims and to the general public,鈥� she said.
Weapons will be surrendered to the AG真人百家乐 County Constable Precinct 5 in downtown Austin. Constable Carlos Lopez said his office has been participating in a similar surrender policy since 2017.
Lopez said the court will provide defendants with instructions to surrender their firearms and his office will schedule an appointment. A receipt will be provided for the firearm surrender and it will be stored until further notice.
He said one of two things will then happen: the firearm will be returned as ordered by the court, 鈥渙r, it will be destroyed as ordered by the court."
District Attorney Garza said the new policy is 鈥渏ust a start" and added that there is still much work to be done to get guns out of the hands of people who should not have them.
鈥淭his is a common sense policy. We know that reducing access to guns is one of the most effective ways to reduce gun violence,鈥� he said.
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