Evergreen Presbyterian Church to Host Third Annual Guns to Gardens Safe Surrender Event

February 28 Transformational Event Will Turn Unwanted Firearms Into Garden Tools 

(Memphis, Tennessee) Evergreen Presbyterian Church will host its third annual Guns to Gardens event, a one-day safe surrender event where unwanted guns will be dismantled to be transformed into garden tools. The event, which will take place on Saturday, February 28, from noon to 3:00 p.m. in the parking lot of Buntyn Presbyterian Church at 561 S. Prescott  Street, is a form of direct action to reduce gun violence in Memphis and Shelby County.

At the February 28 drive-through event, gun owners wishing to surrender unwanted firearms will arrive on-site with their guns, which must be free of ammunition and stowed securely in the trunk or rear of their vehicle. Event personnel will remove the firearms from the vehicles and transfer them to a chop saw station. While the owners remain in their vehicles, trained volunteers will dismantle the guns with a chop saw. Once the firearm is dismantled, it is no longer legally a gun. 

No background checks will be conducted and no personal information will be collected. Unlike a “buy back” event, gun ownership is not transferred. Gun owners will be offered Kroger gift cards as a way to thank them for disposing of unwanted guns. Spiritual and mental health support will also be available on-site.

At the previous two Guns to Gardens safe surrender events, more than 130 unwanted firearms were surrendered and dismantled, and more than $8,000 in Kroger gift cards were given out. 

To recognize the growing impact of these safe surrender events, this year Evergreen will offer additional gift cards for the 150th and 200th guns surrendered. So along with the gift cards offered for each gun surrendered, the person who surrenders the 150th gun will receive an additional $150 gift card, and the person surrendering the 200th gun will receive an additional $200 gift card. 

“Memphians care deeply about the safety of this city, and we’ve seen that clearly demonstrated in our last two safe surrender events,” said Reverend Patrick Harley, pastor of Evergreen and Founder and Co-Director of Memphis Guns to Gardens. “Owners who have surrendered their unwanted guns have shared many reasons for their interest in this program, including not wanting the guns in their homes, concern that the guns would get into the wrong hands or that children would be able to access the guns, and that they were afraid of the guns or had bad experiences with guns. Guns to Gardens offers our community a way to dispose of unwanted firearms without returning them to the gun marketplace, where they could be used for future harm.”

After the safe surrender event, Evergreen will partner with the Metal Museum to transform the dismantled gun parts into garden tools and art. On Saturday, April 4, from 11:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. the Metal Museum will host a special event where transformed guns will be displayed, and artisans will demonstrate techniques used in creating the transformed tools and art.

The goal of this Guns to Gardens event is to take direct action to save lives and address the pervasive tragedy of gun violence in Memphis and Shelby County. Despite experiencing a significant decline in overall crime in recent years, Memphis has persistently high gun‑violence levels that still outpace national trends and exceed other historically high‑crime cities. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens in Tennessee.

This project is part of the national “Guns to Gardens” movement, which works to reduce gun violence by reducing the number of guns in homes and communities. Similar events have taken place across the country, resulting in the dismantling of thousands of guns.

Details

What: Evergreen Presbyterian Church Guns to Gardens Safe Surrender Event

When: Saturday, February 28, noon to 3:00 p.m.  

Where: Buntyn Presbyterian Church, 561 S. Prescott Street, Memphis, Tennessee 38111

Why: Every gun dismantled protects someone from shootings, whether intentional, accidental, or an act of suicide. Transforming guns into garden tools offers healing to persons and communities traumatized by gun violence. 

How It Works: 

  • Gun owners wishing to surrender unwanted firearms arrive on-site with their UNLOADED guns stowed securely in the trunk or rear of their vehicle. 
  • No ammunition will be accepted.
  • Owners remain in their vehicles while skilled personnel remove the gun(s) and volunteers use a metal chop saw to dismantle the gun(s).
  • Gun donors remain anonymous. No background checks are conducted and no personal information is collected. Unlike a “Buy Back” event, gun ownership is not transferred.
  • While supplies last, owners are offered a Kroger gift card as a “Thank You” for their contribution to the movement.
    • $50 for long guns and shotguns
    • $100 for handguns and semi-automatic guns
    • $150 for assault/tactical guns.
    • The person who surrenders the 150th gun will receive an additional $150 gift card, and the person surrendering the 200th gun will receive an additional $200 gift card. 
  • Homemade/kit guns will be accepted and destroyed, but will not be eligible for gift cards.
  • Spiritual and mental health support are available on-site.
  • Leftover metal parts will be transformed into garden tools and art.

For more information, or to contribute a tax-deductible gift for the project, visit https://www.evergreenmemphis.org/guns-to-gardens-1  or contact patrick@evergreenmemphis.org or gunstogardens@evergreenmemphis.org. Photos and video from the previous Guns to Gardens event are available here.

About Evergreen Presbyterian Church

Evergreen is an open and affirming faith community rooted in the Way of Jesus. We grow through spiritual practices that nourish the individual and cultivate a more compassionate world. For more information, see https://www.evergreenmemphis.org/. 

About Guns to Gardens

Guns to Gardens is a national movement to provide Americans with a practical way to responsibly dispose of unwanted guns. Sometimes these are inherited guns. Sometimes they are guns that a family feels are unsafe to have in a home, for instance, with children or teens, with senior citizens or with anyone who suffers from a serious illness. The project is modeled on the non-profit organization RAWtools, which for over ten years has created a national network of blacksmiths who forge dismantled gun parts into garden tools and art projects. The name Guns to Gardens is used with the permission of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence. For more information, see https://rawtools.org/ or https://www.presbypeacefellowship.org/gun-violence/.