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Afghanistan: Guns Into Food
"The rule of the gun is the greatest obstacle to everlasting peace and security in
our country." Mr. Hamid Karzai, the Head of the interim government of Afghanistan.
Guns Into Art (GITA) is committed to obtaining and destroying small arms in war-torn regions before these weapons can be shifted to another conflict. More...
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Contact Information
Guns Into Art is located in San Francisco, CA(415) 525-9433
info@meltguns.com
Our History
Having spent his childhood in a dangerous neighborhood of Los Angeles, Executive Director John Ricker is no stranger to witnessing violence. After losing several friends to guns during his youth, Ricker began to feel increasingly committed to curbing gun violence. In particular, he felt positive changes could result from a dedicated effort to educate the public while gradually destroying the existing arsenal of banned assault weapons. With the recent spate of gun shootings in public spaces, this mission has become more urgent than ever.
In 1998 John Ricker founded Guns into Art to achieve his goal of helping to end escalating gun violence in our communities. Guns into Art campaign is composed of four principal components:
Public Education
As part of its community education and outreach program, Peaceful Streets gives anti-gun violence classes in local schools throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. To date, we have taught thousands of 8 to 12 year olds the perils of playing with guns. This experience has helped them re-shape their notion of guns such that they do not view guns as problem-solving tools, but as instruments of destruction.
From our experience talking with these kids, it is shockingly clear that they know where their parents keep guns, despite the fact that most parents think they have successfuly hidden them. Kids learn from their parents, and if they see their parents using guns to solve problems, it is natural that the children will look to guns as a legitimate way to solve their own problems.
Peaceful Streets works to raise the general public's awareness and understanding of gun violence issues by coordinating public events called Gun Bakes, during which banned assault weapons are melted down and transformed into art by professional blacksmiths and their teenage apprentices. Often in collaboration with local community groups and/or schools, these events commonly take place at or near the site of a gun-related death and aim to help communities psychologically reclaim parks and schools after the tragedy.
Transforming Guns into Public Art
From these melted assault weapons, Peaceful Streets and its team of blacksmiths create memorial park benches and bicycle racks for parks or schools, as well as smaller art pieces such as candleholders and jewelry. Creating permanent art fixtures in honor of gun victims is a way of transforming the negative power of violence into a positive, lasting memory.Research
Peaceful Streets collects information and conducts research on gun violence in our communities. Currently, we are finishing an audit of gift and toy stores in San Francisco, to determine the prevalence of toy guns in low-income neighborhoods. The results will be used to help pressure local governments to enforce existent policies that ban some of these toys and which unfairly target low-income communities.Our Philosophy: Increase Responsibility
The current gun debate is dominated by people demanding their rights: either to own a gun or to live without the threat of gun violence. A tenacious determination to defend these opposing rights has led to a dialogue gridlock between both sides of the debate and has resulted in many, many needless deaths.
Creating a middle ground based on responsibility gives moderate gun owners and non-gun owners a way to develop common social standards regarding the place of guns in our society.
Guns into Art focuses on three key areas wherein adopting rational, responsible behavior can lead to saving lives. If both sides of the gun debate can agree on this middle ground--adopting more responsibility--many lives can be saved.
Kids and Guns
There is no such thing as a good, safe hiding place. Kids find guns, regardless of how clever you think your hiding place is. Based on a recent survey of 400 parents, the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that a majority of parents who own guns keep them loaded or unlocked at home. Curiosity killed the cat, do you really want it to kill your child or grandchild?Find out if your child is playing in a home where a gun is present. Ask your neighbors and the parents of your children's friends. If there is a gun in the home, do not allow your child to play there until the gun is out of the house or locked in a safe.
Assault Weapons
The sole purpose of assault weapons is to kill people. Hate groups, criminals, and gangsters all use assault weapons to terrorize our communities. Accepting the fact that assault weapons have no place in civil society, then working to ban them from our streets will clearly save lives.Suicide
More than half of all gun deaths are suicides. Most of these deaths are middle-aged white men and teen-aged boys. Not surprisingly, suicide is seven times more likely if a gun is in the home. Don't risk losing a loved one to a sudden fit of depression. If you know somebody who is depressed or going through a bad time, make sure all guns are out of the home.