Have you heard of this company, “Liberty United”? They take the metal from destroyed guns and bullets and turn them into pieces of jewelry. The guns come from buy back programs and evidence lockers. The proceeds from sales are used to help families affected by shootings and at risk youths. Liberty United claims that they are helping to reduce gun violence.
The story of this business got me thinking: it seems to be a great recycling program and a great help for communities that need it, but are they really helping to curb gun violence, or simply leveraging American’s fears toward guns?
Prior to starting Liberty United, founders were working to remove AK47s from war-torn Africa. They said, in a Today Show segment last week, that often, these guns were being taken out of the hands of children. Now, I feel strongly that children should be kept safe, and protected. However, what I am about to say, will forever ruin my chances of writing for the Huffington Post: As long guns go, the Ak47 is a favorite of mine. If someone where to help stop killing of children by melting one down and turning it into a pretty necklace, I’d probably buy it. I’d wear my former AK often, and tell everybody I met what it used to be.
The jewelry designs being sold by Liberty United are a little too gritty and not feminen enough for my taste. And while, I appreciate their sentiment, I would not buy or wear their products. They are creating American jobs and helping the under privileged, but I wish they could do this without perpetuating and exploiting an irrational fear in our society. What do you think? Am I being too hard on a non-profit?
Considering their jewelry is about the price of a gun, I’ll just deck myself out with a new Glock 19 + holster. That’s enough accessorizing for me.
Plus then I wouldn’t feed into the ridiculous notion that guns are the problem and if they were gone then all the crime in the inner city would be solved. As a non-profit, they are certainly entitled to whatever ideology they wish, but as a non profit, you should realize where the money you give them will be going.
If they just resold the guns via an auction to FFL’s, like thousands of jurisdictions do with guns and cars and other recovered property, they’d likely get more money faster and wouldn’t be supporting the irrational totemic idea that guns are somehow worthy of destruction simply because they are guns.
That’s a great point! Why shouldn’t a non-profit be run like a business who is out to do well?!?
Aren’t they already jewelry for good?