For Father Mike Murphy, the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s gun buyback is all about building a “culture of peace.”
The pastor of St. Joseph Monastery in Southwest Baltimore and Our Lady of Victory in Arbutus is one of the lead organizers as the archdiocese prepares to host a gun buyback Aug. 10 at Edmondson-Westside High School for the second straight year.
“It’s all about building a culture of peace and promoting the sanctity of life,” Father Murphy said. “This isn’t a one-and-done event. We’re trying to show people there’s a better way.”
Father Mike Murphy, a Southwest Baltimore native and pastor of St. Joseph Monastery Parish, speaks at the Aug. 5, 2023 gun buyback that collected more than 300 guns at the Edmondson Village Shopping Center in West Baltimore. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)
The archdiocese’s initial Southwest Baltimore gun buyback held Aug. 5, 2023, at Edmondson Village Shopping Center, recovered 362 firearms after the archdiocese raised $50,000 for the event. This round of buybacks grew out of an idea from a Catholic coalition, Health by Southwest, which includes leaders from St. Joseph Monastery, Mount St. Joseph High School, Ascension St. Agnes Hospital and My Brother’s Keeper (Catholic Charities).
The archdiocese’s goal this year is to raise $100,000 for the buyback. Held in partnership with the Baltimore Police Department, the buyback hopes to reduce the number of guns in the community.
“We’re not under any illusion that we are going to stop all gun violence,” Father Murphy said. “But we’re trying to change the narrative and promote the message that life is sacred.”
Father Murphy noted that other events have grown out of the buyback, including last December’s prayer vigil and peace walk in which the names of gun victims were read as members of the community processed through the neighborhood.
In a message to Baltimore-area Catholics, Archbishop William E. Lori wrote, “The Archdiocese of Baltimore is actively engaged in fostering peace in Baltimore City, and I invite all of you to join our efforts.”
In 2023, with funds raised by the archdiocese, police officers exchanged cash and gift cards for weapons retrieved from the trunks of vehicles that formed a long line for several hours, wrapped around Edmondson Village Shopping Center.
The 2023 buyback, which included a community fair, secured 158 handguns and 17 semiautomatic weapons. Police paid $200 for handguns, rifles and shotguns, $300 for assault weapons. Each of the weapons was destroyed.
The buyback is part of a multi-prong approach from the Catholic community that includes the archdiocese’s Grief Ministry.
Archbishop Lori noted the work the archdiocese has done to foster peace.
“By channeling God’s love and putting our faith in action, the Grief Ministry has helped relocate families living in witness protection, covered back rent for the parents of young people injured in the Brooklyn Homes mass shooting and paid to bury people who died by violence,” Archbishop Lori said. “We’ve walked the streets in prayer, recovered 362 firearms in a gun buyback, sent personalized, handwritten sympathy notes to thousands and provided 500 families with care packages filled with fresh groceries to carry them through the first days after a loved one’s murder. This work helps stem the tide of retaliation, and it is direct evidence that the church is alive and at work in beleaguered communities.”
He also said the program aligns well with Catholic social teaching.
“Gun buybacks are not a singular solution to violence; however, what we know for sure is, they reduce the number of firearms that could be involved in a theft, suicide, domestic violence assault or murder. This aligns with the Catholic Church’s belief that every human life is sacred,” Archbishop Lori said. “Every gun that is turned in brings with it the potential to save a life.”
Dr. Garen Wintemute, an expert on public health and gun violence at the University of California, Davis, told The Trace in 2021, that the “value of buybacks is principally as a mobilization tool, bringing together people and organizations who want to work on the problem.”
Wintemute co-authored a study that found that buyback programs could be tailored to collect firearms that better fit the profile of crime guns. The study was unable to determine whether the tailored buyback independently reduced gun violence.
“The key,” Wintermute said at the time, “is for that work to continue beyond the buyback.”
This year’s event will not include a community fair like last year’s because the Edmondson Village Shopping Center is undergoing renovations.
Yvonne Wenger contributed to this report.
Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@CatholicReview.org
To contribute, visit osvhub.com/sjmp/giving/funds/gun-buy-back-2024
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