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.
New Feature
Sign up for our newsletter e-mailed to you at 8 a.m. each day Monday through Friday.
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.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement