Seven churches are participating in Kalamazoo’s Gun Amnesty Program, which allows people to drop off a firearm with no questions asked by law enforcement. The program, also known as the Anonymous Firearm Retrieval Program, is designed as a means to help reduce gun violence in our community.
“One gun turned in is a plus because it helps prevent something else from happening on the street with that gun,” said Gregory Jennings, Sr., pastor at Progressive Deliverance Ministries and member of Pastors on Patrol.
Residents must contact one of seven participating locations to schedule a drop-off appointment. At the scheduled appointment, they can bring any firearm to the site, where it will be secured before staff notifies KDPS.To keep the program anonymous, no identifying information is requested.
“If we do have a gun turned in through the gun amnesty program, we do check to see if the gun is stolen, and we can compare it to see if it was used in any other crimes,” said Lt. Andrew Werkema of KDPS. “With that being said, we’re never going to go back to any of the pastors and ask them more questions.”
The seven churches participating in the gun amnesty program are:
- Progressive Deliverance Ministries Church, 1527 N Edwards St.
- Word Harvest Ministries, 1821 N Burdick St.
- Allen Chapel AME Church, 804 W North St.
- Holy Temple COGIC, 1420 E Michigan Ave.
- Bethany Reformed Church, 1833 S Burdick St.
- Seasons of Change Church, 1323 Lane Blvd.
- St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 421 Monroe St.
For more information about the KDPS Gun Amnesty Program, please visit the website for the Northside Association for Community Development (NACD) or the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety’s Gun Amnesty Program page.
