The Denver Broncos, a local nonprofit group, city council members from Denver and Aurora, and the cities’ police departments are partnering in a new effort to take guns off the streets through buyback events this year.
Denver Broncos wide receiver Diontae Spencer knows firsthand the pain, loss and suffering involved with gun violence, having lost his father to a shooting.
“It’s important for me to speak about gun violence prevention because it’s something I personally dealt with,” Spencer said in a Broncos news release. “My dad was killed due to gun violence, and it took me a while to talk about it because I had a lot of anger built up inside of me. Now I look at it as a great opportunity because it could help somebody. If we can educate ourselves and the next generation on how serious this issue is and how to prevent gun violence, then I feel like we can gain a positive outcome.”
Denver District 5 City Councilmember Amanda Sawyer and Aurora At-Large Councilmember Curtis Gardner are partnering with the nonprofit RAWtools and local police to host eight gun buyback events in the metro area. The first event will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday March 19 at Mile High Monument at Empower Field at Mile High.
Guns turned in will be converted into garden tools and jewelry.
“There will be a sister event held at the same location later that day where a gun will be turned into a garden tool and community voices will share how their lives have been impacted by gun violence,” the release said.
RAWtools, a , was selected this year by Broncos players to receive a grant through the team’s Social Justice Fund. RAWtools offers nonviolence workshops throughout the state focusing on bystander intervention, de-escalation, restorative justice, and more.
The upcoming buyback events will be a drive-thru model, where participants must remain in their vehicles. Unloaded firearms are to be brought in the trunk or back seat of a vehicle and removed by a RAWtools representative. Ammunition will not be accepted, but gun cases and locks will be accepted. Donated gun locks will be redistributed to the community at a later time.
News media is not permitted at the events, so those donating firearms may maintain anonymity, according to the news release.
