Community Safety Events
Guns to Gardens Kansas City is a new nonprofit that strives to reduce gun violence, and increase community safety by offering a free, safe, & anonymous way for people to legally dispose of unsafe, unusable, or unwanted firearms. Rather than returning those weapons to circulation, they are permanently dismantled and repurposed into garden tools and other life-affirming items, giving tangible expression to the ancient hope of “beating swords into plowshares” (Isaiah 2:4).
Since 2024, Guns to Gardens events in Kansas City have helped remove and repurpose about 150 firearms from circulation. In 2026, we hope to expand this work beyond a single location by hosting disposal events across the greater Kansas City area, making safe firearm disposal more accessible to more neighborhoods.
This work is only possible through strong community support. Each event relies on donated funds to provide grocery gift cards for deconstructed firearms, welcoming and safe spaces to host events, volunteers trained to serve in a variety of roles, as well as all the tools and equipment needed to safely dismantle weapons.
Whether you give your time, your resources, or your financial support, you are helping transform instruments of harm into tools for life and making our communities safer for everyone.
A family brought in firearms severely damaged in a house fire nearly two decades ago because they no longer wanted unsafe guns sitting in their home waiting to be inherited. One participant turned in a revolver with a crack along the top that was no longer safe to fire or store. Some participants came because they inherited firearms they neither wanted nor felt comfortable keeping. Families affected by suicide have brought firearms returned to them by law enforcement after a loved one’s death. Teachers, students, military members, police officers, and survivors of violence have participated because firearms carried painful memories they no longer wanted in their homes. Others participated simply because they wanted unwanted firearms permanently dismantled instead of resold or recirculated.
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A family brought in firearms severely damaged in a house fire nearly two decades ago because they no longer wanted unsafe guns sitting in their home waiting to be inherited. One participant turned in a revolver with a crack along the top that was no longer safe to fire or store. Some participants came because they inherited firearms they neither wanted nor felt comfortable keeping. Families affected by suicide have brought firearms returned to them by law enforcement after a loved one’s death. Teachers, students, military members, police officers, and survivors of violence have participated because firearms carried painful memories they no longer wanted in their homes. Others participated simply because they wanted unwanted firearms permanently dismantled instead of resold or recirculated. 〰️
Why would people want to dispose of a firearm?
Safety
Many firearms sitting in homes are damaged, inherited, unused, or no longer safely functional. Guns to Gardens offers a safe way to dispose of unsafe or unwanted firearms before they become a risk to children, grandchildren, theft, accidents, or misuse.Healing
For many people, firearms are connected to grief, trauma, military service, domestic violence, suicide, or community violence. Participating can be a meaningful step toward healing and ensuring those firearms are not recirculated or used to harm someone else.Transformation
Rather than sitting forgotten in a closet or returning to the marketplace, firearms are permanently dismantled and repurposed into garden tools and artwork - transforming objects associated with harm into symbols of life, growth, and peace.