cuchulainn
October 6, 2003, 12:12 AM
from the Oregonian
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1065355163237590.xmlOregonians swap firearms for gift certificates, peace of mind
Ceasefire Oregon collects 356 guns, many from people who say they're more comfortable without them
10/05/03
JASON BEGAY
If it weren't for the Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation, Sidney Marshall would still have a gun in her house.
She didn't know what kind it was, just a small handgun that was left by her husband, who died last December. But Marshall, 93, knew she wanted it out of her house.
"I just wanted to get rid of this stuff; I don't like guns," Marshall said after a police officer took the gun from the back of her pickup Saturday. "I've never felt comfortable about it."
Marshall's was one of 356 guns turned in Saturday during Ceasefire Oregon's 10th annual Gun Turn-In. The event offered gun owners a place to safely dispose of their guns at six spots throughout the metro area: Beaverton, Hillsboro, Gresham and Northeast, Southeast and Southwest Portland. Police officers were at each site to collect the pieces -- no questions asked -- for safe storage and eventual destruction.
"A lot of people no longer want their guns because they don't want to be responsible for what continues to happen with them," said Sgt. Michael Janin, with the Beaverton Police Department. The turn-in site in Beaverton yielded more than 100 guns Saturday, Janin said.
Including Saturday's haul, the nonprofit organization, working with Portland-area police agencies, has collected more than 6,000 guns from anonymous donors.
"Our goal is not to talk people out of having a weapon," said Ceasefire Oregon volunteer Susan Miller. "It's to make them think about why they do."
Although many of the people who turned in guns did so for one of three certificate packages offered in exchange, Janin said a lot of gun owners were in the same position as Marshall: left with an unwanted weapon from a family member.
Other people, such as Kim Bruneau, handed over guns they no longer used. With her teenage son Gabe in tow, Bruneau turned in a .22-caliber handgun at the Northeast Portland site. Bruneau purchased the gun in 1980, "when I was still single and I lived alone," she said.
She owned no ammunition. Other than when she was learning to use the gun, she has never used it, Bruneau said.
"I didn't want it in my house anymore," she said.
Kevin Paff of Portland also turned in a .22 pistol, which he owned for 14 years and used for sport and target practice. The gun was beginning to malfunction, which could have led to safety concerns, Paff said.
"The last time I used it, it jammed a lot," Paff said. "I was trying to teach my son about gun safety, and I thought it was about time to get rid of it."
While most of the surrendered guns are destroyed, some are set aside, examined and sent to museums as antiques. The guns will not be given away or sold to private collectors or other owners. Once a gun is surrendered, it will never be used again, Janin said.
If not for the turn-in program, people would have no place to safely get rid of an unwanted gun without selling it or giving it to a friend, the sergeant said.
"It's kind of like, what do you do with a car? You sell it or send it to a wrecking yard," Janin said, pointing to a pile of long rifles. "This is a wrecking yard for guns."
Jason Begay: 360-896-5719, 503-294-5900; jasonbegay@news.oregonian.com
©2003 OregonLive.com.
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1065355163237590.xmlOregonians swap firearms for gift certificates, peace of mind
Ceasefire Oregon collects 356 guns, many from people who say they're more comfortable without them
10/05/03
JASON BEGAY
If it weren't for the Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation, Sidney Marshall would still have a gun in her house.
She didn't know what kind it was, just a small handgun that was left by her husband, who died last December. But Marshall, 93, knew she wanted it out of her house.
"I just wanted to get rid of this stuff; I don't like guns," Marshall said after a police officer took the gun from the back of her pickup Saturday. "I've never felt comfortable about it."
Marshall's was one of 356 guns turned in Saturday during Ceasefire Oregon's 10th annual Gun Turn-In. The event offered gun owners a place to safely dispose of their guns at six spots throughout the metro area: Beaverton, Hillsboro, Gresham and Northeast, Southeast and Southwest Portland. Police officers were at each site to collect the pieces -- no questions asked -- for safe storage and eventual destruction.
"A lot of people no longer want their guns because they don't want to be responsible for what continues to happen with them," said Sgt. Michael Janin, with the Beaverton Police Department. The turn-in site in Beaverton yielded more than 100 guns Saturday, Janin said.
Including Saturday's haul, the nonprofit organization, working with Portland-area police agencies, has collected more than 6,000 guns from anonymous donors.
"Our goal is not to talk people out of having a weapon," said Ceasefire Oregon volunteer Susan Miller. "It's to make them think about why they do."
Although many of the people who turned in guns did so for one of three certificate packages offered in exchange, Janin said a lot of gun owners were in the same position as Marshall: left with an unwanted weapon from a family member.
Other people, such as Kim Bruneau, handed over guns they no longer used. With her teenage son Gabe in tow, Bruneau turned in a .22-caliber handgun at the Northeast Portland site. Bruneau purchased the gun in 1980, "when I was still single and I lived alone," she said.
She owned no ammunition. Other than when she was learning to use the gun, she has never used it, Bruneau said.
"I didn't want it in my house anymore," she said.
Kevin Paff of Portland also turned in a .22 pistol, which he owned for 14 years and used for sport and target practice. The gun was beginning to malfunction, which could have led to safety concerns, Paff said.
"The last time I used it, it jammed a lot," Paff said. "I was trying to teach my son about gun safety, and I thought it was about time to get rid of it."
While most of the surrendered guns are destroyed, some are set aside, examined and sent to museums as antiques. The guns will not be given away or sold to private collectors or other owners. Once a gun is surrendered, it will never be used again, Janin said.
If not for the turn-in program, people would have no place to safely get rid of an unwanted gun without selling it or giving it to a friend, the sergeant said.
"It's kind of like, what do you do with a car? You sell it or send it to a wrecking yard," Janin said, pointing to a pile of long rifles. "This is a wrecking yard for guns."
Jason Begay: 360-896-5719, 503-294-5900; jasonbegay@news.oregonian.com
©2003 OregonLive.com.