some of the garden tools made from guns
By Dan Murphy
Are you tired of hearing of gun tragedies? A group called “Guns to Gardens” is coming to Westchester this fall to try and get unwanted guns off the streets and turn them into Garden tools.
“Guns to Gardens” is a national movement, which works to reduce gun violence by reducing the number of guns in homes and communities. Guns to Gardens Safe Surrender events are offered regularly across the nation, but none yet in New York. At these events, unwanted guns are dismantled, and the leftover parts are later forged into garden tools by trained blacksmiths.
Locally, a Safe Surrender event will be held on Saturday, November 16, at the Scarsdale Friends Meetinghouse, 133 Popham Road, Scarsdale. While the Safe Surrender event is not a traditional gun “Buy Back,” the church will distribute grocery gift cards to thank gun owners for disposing of unwanted guns.
On August 3, an introduction event was held in Mt. Vernon at the First Presbyterian Church in Mount Vernon, to show the public about the group and how the process works. Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard and County Legislator Shanae Williams were in attendance, along with Liz Schutt from Guns to Gardens, and including Dr. Nancy Dodson of Scarsdale Friends Meetinghouse, and Mark and Cameron from Raw Tools Buffalo, who dismantle firearms and turn them into useful tools. Members from SNUG and Moms Demand Action also attended.
First Presbyterian Church in Mount Vernon, in partnership with South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry, Scarsdale Friends Meeting, and RAWTools Buffalo, are promoting the event and working together for this new and interesting group.
Mark Stradley, a high school counselor in the Buffalo City Schools, learned how to be a blacksmith in 2019 to show his students that it is possible to heal from gun violence and to choose the way of peacemaking. “I’ve been in the Buffalo Public Schools [system] for about 15 years, and I’ve lost probably about a half a dozen students to gun violence,” he said. “And even more students that have lost a parent or a loved one to gun violence.” Recently, Stradley applied for and received funding from Governor Hochul’s Project RISE to take his tools on the road to bring his message of hope and healing to cities that have experienced high levels of gun violence throughout New York State, including Mount Vernon and Yonkers.
Local volunteers heard about Stradley’s plan to travel the state and demonstrate turning guns into garden tools and invited him to the First Presbyterian Church in Mount Vernon.
Margery Rossi, pastor of South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry and acting Coordinator of the Gun Violence Prevention Ministry of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, described the combined spiritual and practical sides of the blacksmithing demonstration: “In scripture we find that the prophet Isaiah envisioned a time of peace and prosperity for his community with the iconic words ‘they shall turn their swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks.’ Today, people in our nation mostly use guns instead of swords and spears to commit violence, and so, in order to bring this vision of peace and prosperity to life for our communities, we are turning guns into garden tools as a witness to our faith, and to help people understand that we can take steps to end gun violence, and we can bring peace and healing to our communities. This demonstration is an opportunity to bring healing to survivors and to educate our communities about the Guns to Gardens movement.”
According to the CDC, over 43,000 Americans die every year from gun violence. More than half of the gun deaths are from suicide, followed by homicide, family violence and unintentional shootings. A difficult moment can turn into a tragedy simply because a gun is nearby. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, gun violence is now the number one killer of American children and youth.
“They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.” Isaiah 2:4
On November 16, people with unwanted guns can safely surrender them at the Scarsdale Friends Meeting (133 Popham Road, Scarsdale), see them similarly dismantled (the parts later to be turned into garden tools), and receive life-affirming grocery gift cards as a thank you.
Tax-deductible donations can be made here or by Zelle (treasurer@scarsdale-friendsmeeting.org) to support the November 16th Safe Surrender event.
For more information on Guns to Gardens, this demonstration, or the November 16th Safe Surrender event, please contact Gunstogardens@gmail.com
