Council President Unveils Initiative to Take Guns off the Streets

In an effort to further reduce gun violence in Baltimore, I announced a campaign that encourages citizens to turn in firearms, no questions asked, and receive a free $100 gift certificate to Klein’s ShopRite. The initiative, which is modeled after a similar program in Philadelphia and past efforts in Baltimore, aims to remove illegal firearms from local communities.

The “Goods for Guns” buy-back will take place on Saturday, December 15, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Coldstream Homestead Montebello Community Corporation’s headquarters, located on the campus of City College High School.

Officers from the Baltimore City Police Department will be on hand Saturday to collect the firearms, and representatives from ShopRite and UpLift Solutions will help distribute the $100 gift certificates. Citizens are eligible to receive one $100 gift certificate for each firearm they turn in. The guns will later be melted down.

We have made tremendous strides in reducing gun-related crimes in Baltimore, but we still have a long way to go. This new partnership between my office and Klein’s ShopRite is a great example of a public-private partnership helping to strengthen the community.

Marshall Klein, director of operations of Klein’s Family Markets, said his company has organized a number of successful gun buy-back programs in Philadelphia and jumped at the chance to improve public safety in Baltimore.

“Violence in our communities makes any positive strides more challenging and affects us all,” Klein said. “The ‘Goods for Guns’ program creates a tremendous opportunity to help the communities that we are committed to.”

Please spread the word and help make Baltimore's communities safer.