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line of vehicles snaked around the Baltimore shopping center hours before the scheduled start of a gun buyback and community resource and peacebuilding fair. Among those waiting to hand over an old firearm for $200 or $300 were two men. One of the two men wore an NRA hat in display of his support for the National Rifle Association; he packed his trunk with some old weapons he wanted to trade for cash, likely to upgrade his arsenal. The second man brought a handgun he wanted out of his house in the hours immediately after his stepson was shot and killed. Every hundred people who showed up on that August day brought a hundred reasons to get rid of their guns. What we know for sure is that any one of those firearms, since melted down, could have been used to commit cold-blooded murder. Any one of them could have ended someone’s moment of desperation with suicide or turned an act of rage into a deadly act of domestic violence. Naysayers write off gun buybacks, pointing to a lack of empirical evidence that they directly correlate to improvements in safety. That’s a simplistic assessment, and one that misses the point. How much is one life worth? In Baltimore, the gun buyback created a coalition for peace made up of dozens of partners, including the Archdiocese of Baltimore and two city-based Presbyterian churches, the business community, and both public and private organizations. Using nearly $60,000 raised almost entirely from Catholic parishes and religious orders, we got 362 guns off the streets on a single summer morning that represented more than 20 percent of all firearms recovered by the Baltimore police that year to date. Gun buybacks are most certainly not a singular solution to violence in America. The solution to violence in our country
BY FATHER MICHAEL MURPHY
is found in a million actions that start with the fundamental principle of our Catholic social teaching: every human life is sacred, and we must act accordingly. Our event communicated the inherent value of the potential that our gun buyback saved a life. We channeled peace to our neighbors, and we answered the pope’s call to get firearms out of circulation. We also brought hope to an underserved community alongside outreach by organizations that provide expungements, gun safety locks, violence interruption, workforce development, and youth advocacy, among other services. The gun buyback was an extension of the archdiocese’s grief ministry, which serves the families of homicide victims through a partnership with the Baltimore Police Department and Roberta’s House, a non-profit family grief support center. Through the generosity of Catholics across the area and a network of volunteers, the ministry has provided fresh groceries to hundreds of families, offset funeral costs, and given support to survivors living in witness protection. Following the mass shooting in Baltimore’s Brooklyn Homes community, the ministry used the collection of one archdiocesan parish to pay the back rent for parents sitting vigil at their injured child’s hospital bedside, sent a survivor to substance abuse treatment, and paid for a young graduate’s senior portraits after her recovery. The work continues. Shortly after Christmas 2023, our coalition walked by candlelight, reciting the names of those lost to gun violence in 2023 and praying fervently for God’s peace. At a minimum, our Catholic faith tells us that one life is worth every effort.
“We channeled peace to our neighbors, and we answered the pope’s call to get firearms out of circulation.”
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The Rev. Michael Murphy is pastor of St. Joseph’s Monastery Parish in Southwest Baltimore, which serves the community in which he was born and raised.
Photo Images creditPage tc 10 MÖTUG collective - OBEY Giant - Guns and Roses © Wally Gobetz- OBEY, Page 11 Guns Down © Duncan Cumming
The Potential to Save Lives