GUEST-COLUMN

Work together to stop gun violence before it starts in our community

Gary Mervis
Guest essayist
For 20 years, Project Exile has worked to take illegal guns off streets in the Rochester area.

This upcoming year, Project Exile will celebrate its 20th year of taking illegal guns off the streets and out of the hands of people who have lost the right to possess them.

While the homicide rate in Rochester has never gone back to what it was when Project Exile was started, there are still too many illegal guns on our streets and too many senseless homicides.

 This holiday season everyone should have a goal to make this the safest holiday season yet. This can happen if everyone works together.

Firstly, people should think twice about purchasing a BB or pellet gun because some manufacturers make the guns look identical to real guns. In the current climate, with the number of high-profile police shootings that have occurred, we need to remember that the brave men and women charged with our community’s safety want to be able to go home to their families at the end of the day, and do not want to harm someone they didn’t have to while on duty.

There have been situations in which pellet or BB guns have been mistaken for real guns, and as a result, people have have been hurt. Thankfully, in the incident that happened in Ohio in October, the officer was able to safely take away the BB gun from two young boys and explain to them how dangerous the situation could have been for them. The men and women charged with our safety should not have to make a split second decision on whether or not to make a fatal choice based on what could be a real or fake threat.

Secondly, legal gun owners should remember the importance of keeping their guns safely stored when they are not on their person. This way, if a house or vehicle is broken into, the guns cannot be easily stolen and used for harm. No one wants a fatality to happen in an illegal act of violence because their gun was stolen. Also, it is important to keep guns safely stored so that children cannot easily find the weapon and use it improperly.

We have all heard the phrase, “if you see something, say something,” and this is even more important now during the holiday season.

Keep your ears and eyes open, and if you see something suspicious, or if you know of a gun being wrongly stored, or illegally possessed, let a member of law enforcement know before it is too late.

If we all do our part, we can make this holiday season a season of joy, goodwill, and peace.

Gary Mervis is Chairman of the Project Exile Advisory Board