Unwanted guns have a way of lingering around households and and can cause harm if they get into the wrong hands.
Children inherit them. Adults no longer want them but don't know how to dispose of them safely. Maybe they were used in a crime or a suicide, and a family needs to move on. Perhaps a gun owner just don't feel safe possessing one anymore.
Last year, Denver experienced 73 gunshot-related homicides and 58 gunshot-related suicides, according to the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment.
From 2004 to 2021, 9,246 people died by suicide with a firearm in Colorado. In that same period, 2,489 died by homicide with a firearm, according to data from the Colorado Vital Statistics Program.
Yet selling a gun can be a headache -- and for many people, the idea of a firearm being used in a homicide or suicide isn't worth the few hundred bucks that can be made in a sale. They'd rather see the weapon destroyed altogether.
To try and make a dent in gun violence, faith-based organization Guns to Gardens is hosting a firearm safe-surrender event this Saturday, June 10, from 10 a.m. to noon at Cure d'Ars Catholic Church (3201 Dahlia St.).
Denver area residents can offload guns, no questions asked, and get some grocery shopping money in return.
The whole thing is anonymous. Drive up, with your unloaded firearms in the trunk or backseat, and someone will help.
A volunteer, called a shepherd, will walk you through the process.
You start by filling out an anonymous survey with information about the gun and why you're surrendering it. No police are on the scene, though law enforcement supports the effort and the city's Department of Public Safety is helping fund it.
"Our church is concerned about the high level of gun violence in America and the harm that is being done through suicide, injuries, accidents and other gun violence," wrote Deacon Clarence McDavid of Cure d'Ars Catholic Church, who is hosting the event. "If you feel that it is no longer safe or desirable for you to have a gun in your home, this is a responsible way to dispose of unwanted guns."
Trained volunteers will ensure the gun is actually unloaded. They will document the serial number, which will be shared with law enforcement. Then the firearm will be taken to a chop saw station, and you can watch as they make three cuts into the gun, as required by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Once the gun is destroyed, you can donate it to be turned into garden tools.
For your surrender, you'll receive a grocery store gift card: $50 for a long gun or shotgun; $150 for a handgun or semi-automatic gun; and $250 for an assault or tactical gun.
The shepherd is there to engage in conversation with people surrendering their weapons -- but they don't pry.
"Sometimes people do want to talk about it, " said Cheryl Fleetwood, a Central Presbyterian Church member, helping organize the event. "I had a guy who said that they found these guns. His brother was a gang member and was in prison, and they found these weapons hidden in his mother's home. They just wanted to get them off the streets."
Tired of firearm deaths and injuries, Guns to Gardens Metro Denver formed.
The organization gives people a chance to surrender their firearms without the trouble of a gun transfer, watch them be demolished, and eventually have them forged into gardening tools by RAWTools.
Guns to Gardens' initiative is inspired by the Book of Isaiah, which states: "They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."
Here's how the organization describes itself: "We are a grassroots community of faith working to reduce gun violence in the Denver Metro area by dismantling guns and forging the parts into life-giving tools."
Gun safety has long been a pressing issue in Denver, especially after a string of high-profile shootings this year.
The legislature passed multiple gun-reform bills this year. Mayor-elect Mike Johnston has pledged to strengthen Denver's already strong use of red flag laws. On Monday, anti-gun advocates gathered at the State Capitol to demand Gov. Jared Polis instate a statewide ban on most guns -- something he said he would not do.
That approach couldn't be more different than Guns to Gardens, which is less driven by policy and more by action. The goal is simply to reduce the number of unwanted firearms and give people the power to dispose of them without keeping them in circulation.
Eventually, Fleetwood hopes churches can be equipped with cut saws and skilled volunteers who can help individuals demolish their guns on a case-by-case basis. The group is looking for blacksmiths willing to help forge former guns into tools to increase their efforts.
Every gun removed is one less weapon that could be used to kill or injure someone and devastate an entire community.
"I suspect we'll get 100 or so weapons this weekend," Fleetwood said. "But you know, it's a drop in the bucket."
Fleetwood has spoken to victims of gun violence. Through their stories, she understands the devastation a single firearm can cause.
"If cutting up these weapons even saves one family from having to go through that, it's totally worth it," Fleetwood said. "It's impacting so many people for the rest of their lives."
For more information about this weekend's event, go to the Guns to Gardens Metro Denver website.
