A community of faith program looks to carve out a small piece of the puzzle against gun violence by allowing gunowners to turn their firearms into gardening tools and other pieces of art.

Guns to Gardens, in partnership with RAWtools, looks to make something beautiful out of a possible beacon of anxiety and fear by offering a free firearm surrender at Denver Community Church at 1595 Pearl Street from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. 

Those who would like to surrender a firearm of any type can do so anonymously. The surrendered weapons will be turned into garden tools by RAWtools, a business in Colorado Springs that hacks firearm metal down into tools and sells them to continue the relinquishing efforts.

“So many people in our community have direct or indirect experience with gun violence,” Joel Carlman, the outreach pastor of Denver Community Church, said in a press release. “It’s easy to feel helpless in the face of a big issue like this, but we’re thankful to have this opportunity to do something practical about the harm that is done through suicide, injuries, accidents and other gun violence.”

Around 42% of the homes in American in 2023 have at least one firearm, according to a study by the Statista Research Department. That number has remained around 40% since 1972, leading to the estimated 400 million guns currently owned in the country.

Though the idea of surrendering a firearm may seem extreme, according to Guns to Gardens co-organizer Taylor Davenport-Hudson, it occurs more often than one may imagine. 

“The gun may have caused harm or anxiety, but sometimes not,” Davenport-Hudson said. “We have guests who come through and have inherited guns from their spouse or parents and that’s a representation of the person who they miss but they don’t feel safe with it. This transformation is honoring the person because it’s going to be turned into something beautiful.”

Since starting in 2023, the Guns to Gardens events have seen up to 147 guns surrendered at one of their events over the past year, with the lowest number being 35. 

They attempt to hold a surrender event every other month.

“It’s actually really magical,” Davenport-Hudson said. “We have volunteers from so many different backgrounds. We have volunteers who are testifying for gun reform. We have volunteers who have lost children to gun violence. We have volunteers who are life-long military and gun owners themselves but want to provide a solution for people who no longer feel safer in their home.”

The process works by allowing gunowners to drive up to the event, keeping their unloaded guns in the backseat of the vehicle. The trained volunteers then transfer the guns to a workstation, where they cut them in specific places with a power tool, following Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) guidelines.

Once the gun is no longer considered a weapon, via the ATF regulations, the pieces are stored and sent to RAWtools. The gun no longer needs a transfer of ownership. The gunowners are given a gift card, as well.

Though the serial number of every firearm is given to local police in case of future reports, names and license plate numbers are kept entirely anonymous, Guns to Gardens officials said.

Those who want the tools or art created out of their firearms can then contact RAWtools, deciding on what should be created out of the metal.

“It’s not the whole piece of the puzzle. This is just for unwanted guns. This is just a small piece of that puzzle,” Davenport-Hudson said.

But, to her and the rest of Guns to Gardens, that small piece is still a step in the right direction to ending gun violence.