‘There’s a better way’: Baltimore Archdiocese doubles gun buyback budget to $100,000

The Archdiocese of Baltimore said it acquired several hundred guns as part of a “buyback” program financed by local parishes and individual donors on Aug. 5, 2023. / Credit: Baltimore Police Department

CNA Staff, Jul 19, 2024 / 12:54 pm (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Baltimore will hold its second gun buyback program next month with the aim of doubling its budget from last year and taking even more guns off the streets of its titular city. 

The archdiocese said last year that it obtained 360 guns using $50,000 in raised funds in what officials described as an interfaith event to build “a coalition for peace in West Baltimore.” 

Long known for its high crime and homicide rates, murders in Baltimore have been particularly elevated for roughly a decade. The city in 2023 recorded a homicide rate of about 46 per 100,000 people compared with the U.S. rate of 5.5 per 100,000. 

Father Mike Murphy, the pastor of St. Joseph’s Monastery Parish in Irvington, told CNA last year that the diocese would do another gun buyback program “for sure.” 

The program arose “out of sadness and a desire to make a difference,” he said at the time, and a desire “to move the Church, all churches, into the streets and build strong community relationships.”

The Catholic Review, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, reported this week that the event will once again take place in August of this year with a doubled budget goal of $100,000 for buyback purchases. 

“We’re not under any illusion that we are going to stop all gun violence,” Murphy told the Catholic newspaper this week. 

“But we’re trying to change the narrative and promote the message that life is sacred,” he said. 

In a video message last month, Baltimore Archbishop William Lori said of the 2023 buyback that “every gun that was turned in brought with it the potential to save a life.”

“Our effort aligns with the Church’s belief that every human life is sacred and answers the Holy Father’s repeated call that the faithful work to reduce the trafficking of firearms,” Lori said. 

The archbishop said that “any money raised this year that is not used to purchase guns in the buyback will go towards the needs of families of homicide victims” through the archdiocese’s grief ministry program, which offers care packages to those who have lost loved ones to violence. 

“Ultimately, these efforts provide us with an avenue to channel God’s love towards peace and healing for Baltimore and all our neighbors who call the city home,” Lori said. 

Last year’s program netted nearly 160 handguns as well as shotguns and rifles. Handguns and long guns were purchased for $200 apiece, while assault weapons were bought for $300. All of the purchased firearms were destroyed. 

Murphy indicated to the Catholic Review this month that the program will continue after this year. “

“This isn’t a one-and-done event. We’re trying to show people there’s a better way,” he said.