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Milwaukee Will Hold Gun Buyback Next Month

Firearms Collected Will Be Recycled As Gardening Tools

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Milwaukee's last gun buyback was in 2005. Photo: Artbrom (CC-BY-SA).

Mayor Tom Barrett announced on Tuesday that Milwaukee will hold another gun buyback next month to try to reduce violence in the city.

Barrett praised metal recycling firm owner Marty Forman for helping back the idea. Forman says he hopes the guns can be melted and made into garden tools.

“When people are done with the metal, it can be made into anything once it goes through the furnace,” said Forman. “We would just like to see it get made into something more useful for the community, while recognizing that we’re not trying to take guns away from anybody that wants their guns.”

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Forman says about $75,000 has been raised for the gun buyback program.

A group of African-American clergy in Milwaukee has been asking for the initiative as well. Pastor Mose Fuller says many criminals may not turn in their guns, but he says the buyback program promotes safety and can spark other efforts.

“Other people in the community, business leaders in the community, can step forward and do some constructive things like creating more jobs, creating hope and opportunity for the displaced – the people that don’t have any hope.”

Fuller says a gun buyback program in 2005 brought in 3,000 firearms. This year’s effort will be held May 17.