From pressure on manufacturing companies to parish gun buybacks, parts of the American Catholic world is mobilizing against a culture of violence that causes thousands of victims every year.
We talk about it with Father Mike Murphy, one of the creators of the “Gun buyback” campaign.

A line of cars has been lining up since early morning in the car park in front of a shopping centre in the Edmondson Village neighbourhood of Baltimore, not far from the parish of St. Joseph Monastery. The parish priest, Father Mike Murphy, accompanied by local law enforcement, welcomes the people who, in turn, come to leave their cargo, great or small, just removed from the trunk. This is not a charity collection of used food or clothing but a “Gun buyback,” literally a “repurchase of weapons,” organized by the archdiocese of the city of Maryland together with a network of associations committed – explains the priest – to “building a culture of peace and promoting the awareness that
every life is sacred.”

Man choosing new handgun at a showcase in gun shop. In the United States, there are more guns than inhabitants; 120 firearms for every 100 people. 123rf

While there are more guns than inhabitants in the United States – 120 firearms for every 100 people according to data from the Small Arms Survey – Baltimore has one of the highest rates of violent deaths in the nation: between 2015 and 2022, homicides have consistently exceeded three hundred per year.
“Faced with this real emergency, we decided that we had to physically remove as many guns as possible from the streets,” says Father Mike.
This is how the idea for the first buyback was born last year: several organizations linked to the archdiocese, including a school, a hospital, and various charities, collaborated on a fundraiser that allowed citizens to be reimbursed with cash, or shopping vouchers, when they came to hand over – without questions from the officers – pistols, rifles, and even semi-automatic rifles. By the end of the day, 362 pieces had been collected, which were then destined for destruction.This type of initiative is spreading among those Catholic – and more generally Christian – groups in the United States that have chosen to take action against the tragic effects of the gun culture that their nation is steeped in.

A powerful message to the people
In recent months, buybacks have been organized in various parishes from Detroit, Michigan, to Rockville, Maryland, to Waukegan, Illinois, where Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago also spoke at the event, an outspoken voice on the issue in a country where, from January to September of last year, the Gun Violence Archive recorded 409 mass shootings, many of them fatal. And it’s not just these sensational episodes, but an almost daily drip: according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2020, gun violence had surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death among American children.

Father Mike Murphy speaks at Gun buyback at the Edmondson Village Shopping Center in West Baltimore. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

“We know that buybacks are not a silver bullet, but what we do know is that they reduce the number of firearms that could be used in domestic violence or suicide cases, or end up in the wrong hands: every gun surrendered has the potential to save a life,” Father Murphy said. “Plus, it’s a powerful message to the community, in light of the Christian message.”
While the collected material is usually sent for melting down, some religious organizations, such as Guns to Gardens and Raw Tools, dismantle revolvers and rifles and use the pieces to make agricultural tools: a reference to the biblical prophecy of Isaiah: “They will beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into sickles”.
“Of course,” explains Father Mike, “buybacks are just one of the initiatives to raise awareness among believers and citizens: we have organized prayers for peace and a procession through the neighbourhood during which community members read the names of people killed by firearms in the city during the previous year. A way to show that these people have a face, a family, it’s not about numbers. Some relatives of the victims were present and it was very moving.”

March for Our Lives” protesters at the White House demonstrating for a stop to gun violence in schools. Shutterstock/ Phil Pasquini

These opportunities are in addition to the ongoing commitment of the Archdiocesan Ministry of Bereavement: “We help families affected by episodes of violence not only with prayer and human support but also by providing fresh food and financial support for rent and bills, since in most cases, they are vulnerable families and very poor. Last year a young man was murdered outside his home, a few steps from the parish church, and we contributed to the burial expenses. This work makes the Church feel close to its community and helps to stem the cycle of reprisals”.

Dedicated people
The experiences of grassroots activism, born from the direct initiative of the faithful, often arise as a result of trauma experienced first-hand following the unfortunately frequent massacres, especially in schools. This is what happened in the case of the Peace and Justice Committee of the parish of Christ the Redeemer in Lake Orion, near Oxford, of which Pat Damer is one of the most active members. One of Damer’s daughters was at Oxford High School on the day of the 2021 shooting that killed four students and injured seven. The girl’s class barricaded themselves in the classroom, and she survived. Just a year later, another of Pat’s daughters was on the Michigan State University campus the night a gunman entered two buildings at the university, killing three students and wounding five others. She also survived, but those two experiences deeply affected Damer and his wife Jeanne, who are now on the front line of raising awareness of the scourge of gun violence.

Protesters holding signs with slogans Stop Gun Violence and Protect Children Not Guns. Shutterstock/ Longfin Media

Among other initiatives, the Committee has launched a campaign through which hundreds of parishioners have sent letters to Michigan legislators to support bills on gun safety. “When I touch on this topic, even among my parishioners, the sensibilities are very different,” says Father Murphy. “There’s always someone who brings up the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right of citizens to keep and bear arms. But the issue is to pass common-sense laws, which for example ban assault rifles, such as the infamous Ar-15s used in many of the recent mass killings. These are weapons of war, which should not be in the hands of a citizen, perhaps a minor.”

“We, the faithful, must be in the front line.” Pixabay

It is precisely these types of rifles that have ended up in the sights of the nuns belonging to “Nuns against Gun Violence.” A coalition that includes more than 60 congregations active, particularly, on the advocacy and education front, but also on economic activism. Since 2018, four congregations, in Michigan, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Oregon have purchased shares of the gun manufacturer, Smith & Wesson, and participate in meetings to influence its policy. After asking for an end to marketing to children in video games, last year the sisters sued the company’s board of directors, arguing that the production and sale of semi-automatic rifles, which is not in line with the regulations, would put shareholders at risk.
“These initiatives, often symbolic, send a clear message, which is the one written in black and white in the Catechism of the Catholic Church,” comments Father Mike. Two years ago, in a statement addressing the epidemic of violence in the United States, the U.S. bishops urged members of Congress to act to “address all aspects of the crisis,” including “mental health, the state of families,” and even, “the availability of firearms.” On all these fronts, Father Murphy reiterates, “We, the faithful, must be in the front line.” (Illustration: Shutterstock/Lightspring)

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