Guns to Gardens – Memphis Flyer

Seventy-nine firearms were surrendered and dismantled at Memphis’ first-ever Guns to Gardens safe surrender event last month.

Guns to Gardens, hosted by Evergreen Presbyterian Church, took unwanted guns in a drive-through event and dismantled them with chop saws. The gun parts will be given to artisans at the Metal Museum to make garden tools and art. The church called the event “a form of direct action to intervene in record levels of gun violence.”

Participants were offered Kroger gift cards for their guns in the 24-hous event. In all, 48 vehicles drove through and $6,350 in gift cards were given out. Thirty-five volunteers from 12 organizations participated.

Here’s what was surrendered:

● 79 firearms surrendered and dismantled

● 48 single-shot rifles/shotguns

● 30 handguns

● 1 assault-style weapon

“With this being our first Guns to Gardens event in Memphis, we honestly weren’t exactly sure what to expect in terms of participation,” said Reverend Patrick Harley, pastor of Evergreen. “To say that we were overwhelmed by the response is truly an understatement.

“Cars were lined up down the street, with some folks waiting patiently for nearly two hours. We started out with two chop saws and added a third to help handle the incredible number of guns that were being surrendered.

“And people shared such touching stories about why they wanted to surrender these guns. We are so grateful to those who participated and to the volunteers and ally organizations who helped make this event happen. This clearly showed there is a strong desire among Memphians for this type of solution to help reduce gun violence in our city, so our hope is that we can host similar events in the future.”

The Metal Museum will display the new tools and art made from Guns to Gardens in a special event on March 23^rd from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Surrendered guns will begin to be transformed into garden tools on February 24th at Evergreen Presbyterian Church. During the church’s “Guns to Gardens” event, surrendered guns will be immediately cut up with a chop saw. Later, they’ll be turned into garden tools and art objects by artisans with the Metal Museum.

“Like so many in our community, our church is concerned about the extreme level of gun violence in Memphis and the lives that are being devastated every day,” said Evergreen pastor Reverend Patrick Harley. “We are offering this event as an affirmation of our commitment to peacemaking by working to reduce gun violence in Memphis and Shelby County.

“People who, for whatever reason, have guns they no longer want will be able to safely and anonymously surrender those firearms to be dismantled and later transformed into garden tools. This is foundational to our faith — taking weapons designed to destroy and transforming them into tools that bring life.”

During the drive-through event, gun owners must bring their guns unloaded and stored securely in the trunk or rear of their vehicles. While those owners remain in their cars, their guns will be dismantled with a chop saw.

No background checks will be conducted and no personal information will be collected. Unlike a “buy back” event, gun ownership is not transferred. Gun owners will be offered Kroger gift cards ($50 for handguns, $100 for rifles and shotguns, and $150 for semiautomatic and automatic guns, while supplies last) as a way to thank people for disposing of unwanted guns. Spiritual and mental health support will also be available on-site.

The project is part of the national “Guns to Gardens” movement, which works to reduce gun violence by reducing the number of guns in homes and communities. Similar events have taken place across the country, resulting in the dismantling of thousands of guns.

The gun parts collected at the event will be given to the Metal Museum, which will host a special event on March 23rd to display the transformed guns. Artisans will demonstrate techniques used in creating the objects.

“Gun owners may want to surrender guns for a range of reasons,” the church said in a news release. “The gun owner may have children or grandchildren in the home; a gun owner may have reached an age where they no longer feel that they can safely handle weapons; a gun may have been returned to family by the police after it was used in a suicide or accident; there may be conflict in a family or there may a family member with a serious illness.

“Guns to Gardens provides a way to dispose of unwanted guns without returning them to the gun marketplace, where they could be used for future harm.”

Details

What: Evergreen Presbyterian Church Guns to Gardens Safe Surrender Event

When: Saturday, February 24th, noon to 4 p.m.

Where: Presbyterian Place, 449 Patterson Street, Memphis, Tennessee 38111