Wichita group hosting gun buyback says it’s an extension of its spiritual mission
A Wichita organization centered on principles of peace and community safety is hosting a firearm buyback Monday, March 30, to help make neighborhoods safer by reducing the number of guns in circulation.
Organizers with the Judah Tribal Council of Chiefs and the Holy Kingdom of Judah say their gun buyback is an extension of their spiritual mission, leveraging longstanding community relationships to help make neighborhoods safer.
“We already have been on the ground in our community, going door to door, doing that and being activists in our community,” said Chief E.S. Lewis. “As neighbors, helping neighbors is how communities prosper.”
He said the group’s values, which emphasize restoration and care, helping families, mentoring youth and building safer neighborhoods, align with the objectives of a gun buyback: to decrease preventable gun violence.
“We have a responsibility to community safety,” he said. “And many families have firearms they no longer want or need. This program helps them remove those firearms safely.”
Those who participate in the buyback are eligible to receive between $20 and $300 per firearm. The firearms will then be destroyed, E.S. Lewis said.
“Our goal for the whole endeavor” is to get at least one gun out of the streets, he said.
The buyback is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on March 30 at 1741 N. Poplar. More information can be found at https://www.eldersofzionchurch.com.
