Turn in guns, save lives

After the horrible Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting, so many people were wringing their hands and saying, “What can we do?” I think this was actually one of your own headlines in August.
The Gun Buy Back on Dec. 14 is an opportunity to make our homes and communities safer. Local citizens asked for it in the wake of the tragic Garlic Festival shooting and the horrible shooting at the Ford Store in Morgan Hill.
Many people gave money to the Gilroy Foundation Victims Fund, and that is wonderful. But sometimes it feels important to do something tangible—like getting more guns out of circulation and bringing greater awareness to the public that even the presence of a gun in the home can lead to accidents.
Many accidental deaths and injuries could be prevented if guns weren’t so easily available. Guns that are available are a hazard that can be misused by someone in the heat of anger or found by a child or teenager. They can be used for domestic violence or stolen by criminals. Every unsecured gun has the tragic potential to be used in an accidental or intentional shooting, robbery or homicide, according to District Attorney Jeff Rosen.
Every day in the US an average of 310 people are shot and 100 of them die, 61 from suicide. Of these, 21 are between the ages of 1 and 17, resulting in four deaths. Shootings involving an improperly stored or misused gun in the home account for eight of those injured children or teens each day. Shootings that don’t involve deaths often result in traumatic injuries. These statistics were compiled by Brady United Against Gun Violence.
A big thank you to the cities of Gilroy and Morgan Hill and the District Attorney’s Office for sponsoring this way to help prevent future tragedies.
Some of the gun incidents that have happened right here in Gilroy were caused by children and teenagers playing with or using a gun left unattended or not locked up. I hope this event will help residents of both Gilroy and Morgan Hill heal from the tragic shootings both cities have experienced.
This voluntary, no-questions-asked event on Dec. 14 from 9am to 2pm at the Gilroy corporation yard, 113 Old Gilroy St., can help make South County Strong and safer.
Connie Rogers