Cambridge’s Safer Homes, Safety Community Gun Buyback Celebrates Its Sixth Anniversary with Record Collection

 A record collection of more than 150 unwanted guns were safely turned in at the sixth annual Cambridge “Safer Homes, Safer Community” gun buy-back event on Saturday, June 12th at the Reservoir Church. The collected firearms included shotguns, rifles, revolvers, pistols and several BB guns that looked like real guns. Residents also dropped off ammunition and toy guns. This year’s turnout nearly doubled the amount collected in Cambridge over the previous five years. Public safety officials and community volunteers have now collected more than 320 guns at Cambridge events, handed out firearm safety locks, and shared extensive information about suicide prevention and gun safety.

The Cambridge gun buy-back – part of the city’s initiative aimed at reducing accidental injuries in the home -- is a collaboration of the City of Cambridge, the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office, and faith and community-based organizations.  Since 2014, the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office has assisted 14 cities and towns throughout the county, and more than 1,500 unwanted weapons turned in.

More than 60 organizations helped make this weekend’s events possible through planning, participation, support, and donations. They included the following: A Place to Heal Ministries, Abundant Life Church, Calvary Praise and Worship Center, Cambridgeport Baptist Church, Cambridge Community Fellowship Church, Christian Mission Holiness Church, Congregation Eitz Chayim, Christ Church, First Baptist Church, First Church in Cambridge Congregational, First Parish Cambridge, Friends Meeting Cambridge, Harvard Epworth United Methodist Church, Harvard Memorial Church, Islamic Society of Boston, Journey Church, Kingdom Empowerment Center, Massachusetts Avenue Baptist Church, Parish of Saint Paul, Pentecostal Tabernacle, Reservoir Church, Rush AME Zion Church, Salvation Army, Cambridge Citadel, St. James Episcopal Church, St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Temple Beth Shalom, Union Baptist Church, Western Avenue Baptist Church, Cambridge Community Foundation, Cambridge Community Center, Cambridge Women’s Center, Cambridge YWCA, Community Art Center, East End House, Many Helping Hands, Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House, My Brother’s Keeper Cambridge, Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, The Loop Lab, Transition House, Tutoring Plus, YWCA Cambridge, Cambridgeside, Central Square Business Association, Fresh Pond Market, Harvard Square Business Association, Middle East Restaurant, Pemberton Market, Star Market/Shaw’s, Toscanini’s, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods Market, Cambridge Arts Council, Cambridge Council on Aging, Cambridge Domestic & Gender-Based Violence Prevention Initiative, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge Human Service Programs, Cambridge Peace Commission, Cambridge Police Department, Cambridge Public Health Department, Cambridge Public Works, Cambridge Veterans Services, Massachusetts State Police and the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office.

“We are so excited with the community support and results from this year’s Safer Homes, Safer Community gun buyback.” said Lori Lander, founding organizer of Many Helping Hands 365 and one of the leaders in this event. “By removing these weapons from their homes, residents are creating a safer environment for their family, friends, and neighbors.” 

"I applaud residents and community partners who have participated in the Cambridge gun buybacks over the years," said Claude Jacob, Chief Public Health Officer and director of the Cambridge Public Health Department. "Removing unwanted guns from homes is a potentially life-saving measure that can prevent accidents, suicide, and acts of violence."

“Working with our local partners and providing residents in cities and towns across Middlesex County the opportunity to safely and securely dispose of unwanted firearms is making our communities and homes safer places to live,” said Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian.

“A majority of the guns turned in at this year’s event were BB and pellet guns, but many of them could have been easily mistaken as real firearms,” said Cambridge Police Commissioner Branville G. Bard, Jr. “It is important that parents and children fully understand the risks involved with using these types of guns because they are built to be replicas of actual firearms. Neither an officer nor a resident would be able to identify the difference in a split-second if one was pointed at them. The disposal of these unwanted replica guns is another reason why we are proud to support this important annual event.”

If you or someone you know of was not able to participate this past weekend and would like to dispose of an unwanted gun in your home, please contact the Cambridge Police Department at 617-349-6009. Appointments scheduled by Saturday, June 19 will be eligible for a grocery gift card.

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