SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) – A showdown is looming at city hall as efforts continue to get a voluntary gun buyback program in San Antonio.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus says those programs don’t work. McManus has tried them in other cities, but Councilman John Courage says the proposal is moving forward. The city’s Governance Committee today agreed to send the proposal to the Public Safety Committee, and if it gets past the second hurdle, it will go before the full city council for a final vote.

Courage believes it has enough support on the council to get final approval.

“It’s the city council that sets policy for our city,” Courage told KTSA News.

Can they implement the gun buyback program without the support of the police chief?

“If the city council establishes any policy, it is incumbent on any employee of the city who is charged with doing so to carry out that policy to the best of their ability, and I believe that the chief is no exception to that,” said Courage.

He believes that gun buyback programs can save lives.

“Every gun we remove is one less gun less that could take a life, that could injure somebody or that could be used to commit a crime,” said Courage.

He’s confident that they can work with the chief to come up with a gun buyback program that works.

“I fully believe that if it becomes the policy of the city council, that he (McManus) will work to the best of his ability to ensure that we have a very good, solid, safe gun buyback program,” Courage said.

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