$200 gun buyback Saturday at Queens church

Queens will be hosting its own gun buyback program this weekend, and elected officials say it will make a difference in the growing violence in the borough.

Anyone who submits an illegal or legal handgun, rifle or shotgun at the New Jerusalem Baptist Church, 122-05 Smith St., Jamaica, on Saturday will receive a $200 gift card.

No questions will be asked.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who is organizing the daylong event with Queens District Attorney Richard Brown and state Sen. Malcolm Smith, said the gun buyback program has helped to get 7,000 guns out of circulation since its inception.

"Every gun taken off the street is a gun that no longer has the potential to kill," he said in a statement.

Smith (D-St. Albans) has been pushing for additional gun buyback programs in Queens for years because of the increase of shooting incidents there.

Money has always been an issue for the program, Smith said.

But this buyback program had several financial sponsors, including Armani Exchange and Donald Trump.

"Providing a monetary incentive to help rid our neighborhoods of illegal guns will help make our streets safer," he said.