A MINISTRY that buys back guns in return for grocery-store vouchers in the state of Michigan, in the United States, has safely disposed of hundreds of weapons.
The scheme, Disarmory Ministries, now set up as a charity, is run from a parking lot outside a Presbyterian church on Fridays and Saturdays. It offers vouchers up to the value of $200 for an assault weapon, with a $300 limit on any donation.
“This is a needed service for many people in our state,” the president of Disarmory Ministries, the Revd Chris Yaw, told the Episcopal News Service. He is also the Rector of St David’s Episcopal Church, Southfield, in Michigan.
Fr Yaw has been hosting gun buy-back events since 2022, and has disposed of more than 650 firearms through the church in the past three years. “We started this ministry out of compassion: we had a mass shooting at a high school not far away, then the next year at Michigan State University, which is not far away,” he said.
He founded Disarmory Ministries as a charity this year. “We are the nation’s first ongoing buy-back. In our first weekend, we disposed of 17 guns which included an assault rifle and a handgun used in a suicide. We fund these efforts by donations, government grants, and university grants.”
He said that, in the United States, about one quarter of the firearms were owned by people who had not bought them. “Inherited and gifted firearms may be unwanted and less cared for, posing a potential public safety hazard.
“This is about the voluntary surrender of an unwanted firearm. We have no agenda other than helping people who want to safely, conveniently, and economically dispose of their firearm. Period.”
There are an estimated 400 million guns in the US.
The Disarmory Ministries website says that taking guns out of circulation helps to protect children — for whom firearms are now the leading cause of death in the US — and people at risk of taking their own lives. A donor’s handwritten note shown on its Facebook page reads: “This pistol was purchased by my brother on Tuesday and used to end his life on Thursday.”
In 2023, 2581 children and teenagers were killed by a firearm.
The website says: “Recognizing the potential dangers posed by these firearms, we have created a solution that not only helps individuals dispose of their firearms responsibly but also contributes to the overall safety of our neighborhoods. Over the past three years, we disposed of hundreds of unwanted firearms and have forged connections with local organizations and community members who share our vision of a safer environment.
“Our team of firearm disposal experts is passionate about what we do, and we are proud to have helped so many people take this crucial step toward ensuring the safety of their families and neighbors.”
The guns are cut up with chop saws (mitre saws) by the project so that they cannot be reused. The Bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Michigan, Dr Bonnie A. Perry, who is a convener of the network Bishops United Against Gun Violence, blessed the two saws.
She said: “I am in this so we can decrease the anxiety in one place for people. We have got to address the endgame around guns, and this project is going to make that happen.”