CrimeBeat: How do I legally dispose of a firearm?

CrimeBeat Q&A is a weekly feature where police reporter Julie Johnson answers readers' questions about local crimes and the law.

How does a person legally dispose of a firearm like an old rifle in working condition that I found when cleaning out my parents' garage? Can I sell it or turn it in somewhere?

John Russell, Santa Rosa

Sell it, consign it, gift it or relinquish it, but first mind this tip: Don't stroll through the door of a gun retailer or into the front lobby of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office with an unwanted gun on the hip, Sonoma County Sheriff's Sgt. Cecile Focha said.

Make sure the gun is unloaded and in a locked box. Call the retailer or law enforcement agency to find out the rules before walking through the door.

“Safety being paramount, leave it in the trunk,” Focha said.

Californians can sell guns to a neighbor, pass it down to a relative, sell it at a gun store outright or on consignment, or turn it in at a police or sheriff's department. All transactions must be documented with the state's Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms.

Don Schmidt, who owns Schmidt Firearms on Piner Road in Santa Rosa, said firearms retailers act as intermediaries between gun owners and the state's system for tracking firearms.

A person selling a gun to a friend must complete the transaction at a gun shop, where a clerk can fill out the requisite paperwork for a two-party transfer for sales between private parties. The same is true for a father wishing to pass a firearm down to his son, which requires what's called an inter-family transfer form.

“The sale or transfer has to go right through my computer to the state,” Schmidt said.

Unwanted weapons and ammunition can also be surrendered to law enforcement agencies to be destroyed, Focha said. Call dispatch or the main number from the parking lot and a deputy will come outside to meet you, the sergeant said. Leave the unloaded weapon in a trunk or locked box and only open under direction of the deputy, Focha said.

Sheriff's Office personnel will check the serial number to make sure the gun hasn't been reported as lost or stolen and that there's no record it's been used in a crime.

The agency stores the weapon for several months and, once or twice a year, send batches of seized and relinquished weapons to be destroyed by a private firm, the sergeant said.

“We don't collect guns and keep them, even if it's the oldest, coolest relic,” Focha said. “If you want to be done with it, give it to us and it's gone forever.”

More information on firearms sales can be found at the California Department of Justice firearms bureau at https://oag.ca.gov/firearms/pubfaqs.

Submit your questions about crime, safety and criminal justice to Staff Writer Julie Johnson at julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.