Fewer Guns Mean Safer City Streets
Published: October 14, 2009
The surrender of a single shotgun to police won’t necessarily make the community a safer place. But the signal it sends to those who are working to get guns off the city streets is powerful.
The message? Getting guns and the violence they represent off the streets will make Lynchburg and its environs safer for everyone.
At a news conference last week, Charles Lewis of Madison Heights turned over a shotgun to Lynchburg Police Chief Parks Snead. It was a firearm, Lewis said, that his grandson had used to take his own life in 2007.
Lewis said the message he was trying to send was far more important than the weapon itself. “I hope that other people will see that and continue to do things like (surrender their guns),” he said.
The surrender was part of an ongoing project sponsored by the ministry group Churches United for Service. It began in June 2008, and the shotgun represented the 11th firearm voluntarily given to city police.
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The Rev. James Coleman has been instrumental with the ministry group and believes their efforts have at least contributed to the fact that Lynchburg has seen no homicides so far this year. Four were recorded in 2008.
“We acknowledge through Churches United for Service that ministers can make a tremendous difference,” Coleman said. He added that the group was not taking credit for the lower homicide rate but did say, “we are a contributing factor.”
Snead praised the group for its gun surrender efforts but stopped short of picking one factor or another to explain why the city has seen fewer homicides this year. Rather, he said, “I point to everything. I point to people being involved, to people becoming interested in this, to families like the Lewises, who are willing to send a positive lesson out of a family tragedy.”
Coleman said the group’s gun surrender project will end in December, but he hopes the effect will last much longer. “We believe that when a few ordinary people have conviction to speak and then to act upon that which they speak, then you can literally make a difference in your community.”
He’s right about that.
The surrender of that shotgun last week offers the potential of one fewer weapon on the streets. More than that, it sends the message that Lynchburg is trying to become less violent with fewer guns. That’s a message the Lynchburg police department — along with law enforcement throughout the region — can embrace with enthusiasm.
It’s also a message that can lead to a safer community — something that all residents can embrace without reservation.
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Reader Reactions
1 Va Dem,
I agree that those terms are universal and could apply to anyone.
As for the older lady, I may not agree with sleeping with it under her pillow but that is her decision. Now, if she is not mentally competent anymore (she can’t make reasonable everyday decisions for herself) the family should step in and take it. If in fact she is capable of making her own decisions, and she accidently shoots herself, it is her own fault. IMO the family should stay out of it because I believe in free will, liberty, and the right to property.
According to www.bradycampaign.org there are 642 unintentional shooting deaths on average per year. There are 30,896 deaths on average per year from gun violence. And 69,863 survived gun injuries on average per year. If you add the deaths that equates to 31,538 on average yearly in America from gun shootings. Deaths attributable to cigarette smoking is 443,000 on average per year according to the Center for Disease Control.
So smoking cigarettes kills people 14% more than gun shootings. Also according to the CDC, about the same number (36000) die from flu-related causes each year.
So you have just as much probability of dying from the flu as dying from being shot by a gun.
I just wanted to point some of this out for anyone reading this.
Frankly, I think ignorant, incompetent and unstable are fairly universal. They are in the news a lot.
I heard a story just today of an older lady who slept with a gun under her pillow and her family was worried she would shoot herself but she feels “she needs protection” and no one is changing her mind even though her handling makes them all terrified. There are too many stories of people shooting their spouse, girl/boy friends, or themselves when they “panic”. Gun accidents happen when people mishandle a gun and I think that puts them into those three categories. More people like that need to give up guns and settle for locks and alarms IMO.
If people are willing to get educated and competent/capable with a gun, I have no problem with them having or using it when needed.
Competent gun owners have nothing to ever fear from me for whatever reason they have guns, I assure you.
I didn’t want clarification, I was letting you know why I “misunderstood” your post.
I am sorry if I sounded “denigrating” but I was trying to get my point across. Like I said before, I am glad that they were trying to have peace but what if the grandson would’ve committed suicide by any other manner; say steak knife, broken glass, shaving razor, jumping off bridge, hanging himself with a bedsheet, etc. Would that have made the title of this article “Fewer bridges mean Safer City Streets”, etc.?
By what standards are you meaning ignorant, incompetent, and unstable? Anyone could be described at ignorant or incompetent or unstable. Can you please be more specific.
You also stated that “ if more folks who should not have guns in their home are prompted to do the same, we still all benefit in the long run.“ Can you please clarify this statement. Are you saying if less people had guns, we would benefit or if more people handed over there guns, would would benefit? How do you come to this conclusion?
I am not trying to fight, but since you want “clarification” OK, round 3:
Because I concede that the fault is with the user does not mean the gun did not do the shooting.
You said: “That grandson could’ve hung himself so should we be sending in bed sheets?“ That sure sounded denigrating to me.
Since I never called for people to disarm themselves, your beef is with yourself I guess.
By “blind allegiance to the gun” I meant your complete glossing over of the WHY they surrendered the gun to use the moment as a gun rights issue instead of letting them find their peace and closure as they are entitled to do.
Many guns are not used for good, I do not know you and therefore can only pray yours always are. There are accidents and mistaken shootings in the news all the time and I guess they also thought like you.
I only want the ignorant, incompetent and unstable to give up their guns. I have no problem with legal guns and legal gun owners.
For clarification
1 VA Dem: “Guns most certainly kill people” @1:30
1 Va Dem:“Chances are that anything that happens with a gun is the “fault” of the user.“ @2:04
Sorry for the misunderstanding.
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1 Va Dem: “who are you to denigrate the sentiment?“ @1:30
Sorry, I didn’t know that I did.
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1 Va Dem: “I also never said anything stupid like criminals should get guns but people should not so who exactly is twisting words here?“ @ 2:04
I never said that you said they should. I said “If criminals can get weapons and people can not, how much crime do you think will go on?“
What I probably should have said was if people disarm themselves, who do you think the criminals will attack?
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1 Va Dem: “Sad that your blind allegiance to a gun cannot let you allow this family the peace they want to achieve.“
My “blind allegiance to a gun”???
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1 Va Dem: “I pray your guns are always used for good…“
What makes you think they wouldn’t?
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1 Va Dem: “ if more folks who should not have guns in their home are prompted to do the same, we still all benefit in the long run.“
I am sorry, I thought you meant if we all gave up our firearms, we would all benefit in the long run. Which would have made this comment of mine “If criminals can get weapons and people can not, how much crime do you think will go on?“ rephrased as “if people disarm themselves, who do you think the criminals will attack?“ a valid question.
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Sorry for the piecing.
I do not know who you wrote your comment to. When you post on a open forum, people respond, sorry if that bothers you but you better get used to it.
I am not the only one who made assumptions so we can call that one even.
You attribute thoughts and words to me that I did not say nor imply and then whine that I am the one who is not responding “intelligently”? Interesting.
I have not blamed guns for crime or accidents but the simple and honest truth is that they easily facilitate both.
Chances are that anything that happens with a gun is the “fault” of the user. I never said otherwise. I also never said anything stupid like criminals should get guns but people should not so who exactly is twisting words here?
1 VA Dem; Did I write that comment to you? Did I write that comment to degrade the family? I didn’t say anything degrading. Try again. If it makes them feel better, thats great.
If anyone else would like to give a firearm away, I’d gladly take it! I use firearms for hunting and protection. Of course I am sane. I am a woman and I don’t consider myself weak but if someone was breaking into my house to do God knows what to me or my children, what kind of defense would you rather me use than a gun? Please inform me!
If criminals can get weapons and people can not, how much crime do you think will go on? Please inform me!
People kill people, not guns. People kill people, not bed sheets. People kill people, not knifes. If someone owns a firearm, it is their responsibility to get educated on how to use it, cleans, and store it. If someone wants to commit suicide using a gun, they pull the trigger. It was their decision, not the guns. That gun didn’t choose for that to happen. Chances are if someone was shot while cleaning a gun it was there fault. Yes there are freak accidents but chances are it was human error that left that gun loaded.
You can’t blame guns for crime, only the criminals.
Hopefully you can respond intelligently as I see in your last post to me, all you could do it make assumptions about me and twist my words (or maybe you have a problem comprehending what I wrote?). Either way, if that’s all you can add to the conversation, I think my point has been made.
Guns most certainly kill people. Not alone, not even on purpose sometimes, but they do. You are obviously quite happy with your firepower and the rest of us can pray you are sane, stable, knowledgeable and competent BUT if surrendering that gun relieves the pain of this family in any way, who are you to denigrate the sentiment? We all know this symbolic gesture was for healing and closure and if more folks who should not have guns in their home are prompted to do the same, we still all benefit in the long run.
I pray your guns are always used for good but many are not. If simply acknowledging that fact makes you weaker somehow, maybe you were not so strong in the first place.
I did not take this article to infer that you should surrender your guns or that anyone expects criminals to do so. It is a happy thought just like pie in the sky and it hurts no one. Sad that your blind allegiance to a gun cannot let you allow this family the peace they want to achieve.
Guns don’t kill people, people do. That grandson could’ve hung himself so should we be sending in bed sheets? Criminals are going to get guns/knives/whatever to commit a crime but whats even better to them is an unarmed victim. This Chick will not be stand unarmed as someone robs my home or assaults my children. But if you want to hand over yours it like putting a big sign in your yard, take whatever you want because I can’t protect it.
Mr. Knipp, your headlines would be equally true if the story involved someone surrendering their Driver’s License or their presence on the streets, or if criminals stopped being criminals. If surrendering that gun makes that family feel better or feel like they are helping send a message, who are you to make fun of it?
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