(CBS-DETROIT) – More than 60 privately owned guns were returned Saturday for destruction during a gun buying event at St. Aidan’s Church in Ann Arbor.
It was the last of six gun buyback events hosted by Episcopal churches in southeastern Michigan. More than 300 weapons were returned during these events.
People who turned in a gun received a gift card or, for some, simple relief.
“When you see the people coming, you understand why it’s important when they tell you I had this gun in my closet, it was my father’s and I didn’t know what to do with it, whether it was my husband’s or it was Something tragic happened in their family and they are really relieved,” said Tom Ferguson, director of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church.
A couple decided to give away an AR-15 they owned.
“It was a gun that belonged to my son. He used it for target practice,” said Leo Wisniesky of Ypsilanti. “He has lost interest in it and we have had it for a number of years and we have no use for it anymore.”
After the guns were surrendered, they were destroyed and taken apart. Doctors for Gun Violence Prevention help with that process.
“Gun violence has become the number one killer of children in the U.S. since 2020,” said Mike Otto, president of Physicians for the Prevention of Gun Violence. “Forty-four thousand Americans die every year from gun violence, and 10% of them are children. So every two hours a child dies in the US, which is far out of proportion to any other country in the world.”
After the weapon is disassembled, the pieces are turned into art, turning something that can kill into something that can inspire.
Six more gun buying events will take place next year, including one at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church.
