What sparked this interest?
I wanted to do something – handgun violence in the US has made me really angry. Almost every day we see another situation where handguns are use to take innocent lives at schools, churches or workplaces.
At my high school, we have to practice lockdown drills because of the high frequency of these incidents. It sickens me that the world has had to accept the prevalence of gun related violence. I am approaching my project, “One Less Gun,” one weapon at time and hope to get many, many more off of the streets by this fall!
How am I going to help?
This is a large and challenging problem. With over 300 million guns in the US, there is no easy fix, but I am going to make an impact and get moving. I am targeting buying as many used, cheap handguns as I can with the money raised from my supporters and bring these to the Police department for destruction.
Last month I purchased two used guns (similar in style to the kind used in the hateful Charleston shooting) and have taken them to the Police. As I mentioned earlier – this is not going to solve the national problem – but it feels great to know that at least these two guns are not going to hurt anyone!
How am I going about this project?
I have already started – my dad and I bought two handguns from a pawnshop in Columbus, Ohio and I brought them to the New Albany Police department to get destroyed. The officers were thrilled.
I am going to see how many people are interested in helping me get more of these cheap ($100-$200) guns off the street. I am starting with “friends and family.” I feel like we will be saving lives!
How will this project better my community?
I hope to make our area safer, as much as I can, by reducing the number of high-risk guns. The more money I raise, the more guns I can purchase to turn over to the Police. Of course there will still be the constant threat of gun violence, but at least the guns we get off the street will be threats that are eliminated!
