TURN YOUR GUNS INTO USEFUL TOOLS

Jaws of Justice Radio investigates how we can achieve justice from a system of laws deeply rooted in economic, social and political inequality.  We want to dispel misconceptions created by the news and entertainment industry, politicians and our educational system. We hope you will listen.

Host Terri Wilke speaks with Mary Merola, a member of the Guns to Gardens task force of Central Presbyterian Church, 3501 Campbell St, Kansas City, MO.  Guns to Gardens is a national movement based on the Biblical scripture Isaiah 2:4, “…Beat their swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks.”  The project is modeled on the non-profit organization RAWtools in Colorado, which created a national network of blacksmiths who forge dismantled gun parts into garden tools and art projects. The movement was started following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012.

https://rawtools.org/

Locally, this past Saturday on October 12th, Central Presbyterian Church sponsored a Guns to Gardens Safe Surrender Event, creating an opportunity to surrender unwanted firearms safely, responsibly and anonymously.

“Guns to Gardens” shares the vision of making communities safer and more richly connected. Sometimes, the firearms that people want to dispose of are inherited, or guns a family feels are unsafe to have in a home with children, teens, senior citizens or with anyone who suffers from a serious illness.

The Safe Surrender Event allowed community members to dispose of unwanted, unloaded firearms anonymously, practically, and responsibly. People surrendering firearms were asked to place them in their vehicle’s trunk and bring them to the church parking lot where a trained Guns to Gardens volunteer removed and dismantled the gun. Following the Safe Surrender event, the chopped-up firearms will be repurposed into garden tools, kitchen implements, and other items.  Over 70 firearms were removed from Kansas City streets at this event.

Central Presbyterian Church is a diverse, inclusive, and compassionate community dedicated to service and social justice grounded in faith, respecting our authentic selves, each other, and our planet. Central Presbyterian Church is progressive and LGBTQIA+ inclusive.

 

https://www.centralpreskc.org/

 

On Jaws of Justice, we examine how to find justice in our society.  Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.

 

 


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