Last Saturday, people drove up to an empty parking lot in Torrance and surrendered 256 guns, no questions asked.

The haul on Nov. 16 netted 89 pistols, 88 rifles, 69 shotguns, eight assault weapons and two ghost guns. In return, the former owners received gift cards worth $50 for non-working guns; $100 for working pistols, rifles and shotguns; $200 for ghost guns (guns without serial numbers); and $300 for assault weapons.

As for the firearms? They were destroyed.

This gun buyback was the thirteenth held by Fourth District Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn in the past 2 1/2 years. Hahn, who represents the South Bay area, said the number of firearms turned in since May 2022 has surpassed 2,000.

The number was exactly 2,052 guns, she reported.

“Today in closets and bedrooms across L.A. County, there are 2,000 fewer guns that can be found by a child, accidentally discharged, or stolen and used to kill in a crime. That makes all of the work weve done to bring these buybacks to our residents worth it,” said Hahn in a statement.

Since she started holding buybacks in cooperation with local law enforcement, Hahn has said she is frustrated with the U.S. Congress for not acting to limit guns in the country, or ban the sale of assault rifles. And she is frustrated by the proliferation of mass shootings.

As of Tuesday, Nov. 19, there were 531 mass shootings this year in the United States, according to the database from the website Mass Shooting Tracker. (A mass shooting is defined as a single outburst of gun violence in which four or more people are shot.)

Hahn has said removing guns from the home can make that home safer, protect accidental discharges that can kill or wound a child, and prevent or make it much harder for someone under duress to commit suicide or shoot someone else.

Time and time again, these buybacks have shown that many people have these dangerous weapons they no longer want in their homes but have never had an easy, convenient way to get rid of them, Hahn said in a statement. This is that opportunity. They want to play a role in making their homes and communities safer.

In 2022, more than 800 deaths in Los Angeles County involved a firearm and 313 of those were due to gun suicide, the county reported.

In California, out of a population of roughly 40 million, about 4.2 million adults are gun owners. But those who own guns usually own more than one, bringing the total number of firearms in the state to about 20 million, according to the University of California Firearm Violence Research Center at UC Davis.

So is removing 2,052 guns from homes, out of a total of about 20 million guns in the state, going to make a difference? Will these gun buyback events slow the rates of suicides, accidental shootings or gun violence in L.A. County?

The results of dozens of studies analyzed by RAND Corporation researcher Amanda Charbonneau, examining the effects of gun buyback events across the country, are mixed. In fact, researchers say the numbers are hard to come by, because just measuring incidents of gun violence before and after a buyback event doesnt account for other factors that may play a role.

While the ultimate goal of most buyback programs is to reduce firearm violence and crime, few studies have demonstrated that these programs have such effects, concluded the analysis by RAND, which is based in Santa Monica.

The empirical research available on gun buybacks suggest that there has been limited success in targeting high-risk individuals and guns, the research paper concluded.

Sandy Hook Promise, an organization that formed after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut on Dec. 14, 2012 in which the shooter killed 20 school children and six adults said it would not comment on gun buyback programs.

While some critics call the gun buyback events theater or publicity stunts, the RAND analysis said any meaningful effects could go unnoticed because of the small fraction of guns collected and destroyed in each community.

Also, the gun buyback events could produce indirect effects, such as making people aware of the dangers of having unsecured guns in their homes. It can also create awareness of gun locks and other devices used to keep firearms out of reach of children, the paper said.

In June, Los Angeles County libraries began giving away gun locks at selected branches. Also, the county began giving gun locks to doctors and nurses at county hospitals to hand to patients upon their release.

A haul from a gun buyback event held on May 5, 2018 in Mission Hills, in the San Fernando Valley. LAPD show off some the guns turned in at the Mission Hills police station from the gun buyback program. (photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News/SCNG).

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department said they do not hold gun buyback events. In the past, the Los Angeles Mayors Office, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD), have held gun buybacks in the Mission Hills community of the San Fernando Valley.

The GRYD office did not respond to phone calls on Tuesday.

Also, the South Bay Gun Owners and the Long Beach Rod and Gun Club did not respond to inquiries on Tuesday.

The RAND report said the inconclusive results from gun buybacks havent stopped them from taking place and that at least 550 gun buybacks occurred in 37 states between 1988 and 2021.

Those gun owners who want to turn in their guns can do so on Saturday, Dec. 7, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., hosted by the Burbank Police Department at 200 N. 3rd Street. Last year, the Burbank Police Department buyback yielded 39 handguns, 23 rifles, 6 shotguns and 4 assault weapons. Direct inquiries to: STurner@burbankca.gov or call: 818-238-3240.