SHEPHERDSTOWN – A local church’s effort to transform firearms into garden tools drew a mix of reactions over the weekend, as two groups put up their own solutions to people’s unwanted guns.
Members of Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church hosted their third “guns-to-garden tools” event, part of a broader initiative inspired by a national Presbyterian call to reduce gun violence. The program allows individuals to voluntarily bring in firearms to be dismantled and ultimately repurposed into items such as gardening tools and jewelry.
“This is our third time doing it,” said church member Leslie Williams. “We were really moved by the idea of taking something that can take life and turning it into something that can give life.”
Participants brought a wide range of firearms, from pistols to rifles, including some in working condition and others that were decades old or no longer functional. But Williams said the most significant aspect of the program is not the weapons themselves, but the stories behind them.
“Sometimes people come for practical reasons, sometimes for faith reasons,” she said. “We’ve had people bring in guns connected to suicides, or because they’re worried about a loved one who is struggling. There’s often a lot of emotion tied to it.”
The process is entirely voluntary and structured to ensure safety and compliance with federal guidelines. Firearms are checked, dismantled according to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives standards, and rendered inoperable before being sent to a partner organization that forges the materials into new items.
“There’s no transfer of ownership,” Williams said. “By the time they’re cut, they’re no longer guns. People stay and watch the process, and for many, that’s a powerful moment — sometimes relief, sometimes grief, often both.”
The initiative also aims to address a significant public health concern. Williams noted that a large majority of firearm deaths in West Virginia are suicides, a rate higher than the national average.
“Even if it’s just one gun, that’s one less that could be used to harm someone,” she said. “It may feel like a small step, but it matters.”
Just steps away from the fire station where the event was hosted, another group took a different approach.
Republican Del. Chris Anders said he organized a group of about two dozen people to offer cash to individuals who preferred not to see their firearms destroyed.
“If people want to get rid of guns, great. We’re here to help,” Anders said. “We’re offering cash and giving them a loving home instead of having them cut up.”
Anders estimated his group had acquired roughly a dozen firearms during the event by about an hour in, including several .22-caliber rifles and shotguns. He said many people who approached them were looking for alternatives to the church’s gift card exchange and dismantling process.
“A lot of folks inherit guns they don’t want,” he said. “We’re just providing another option so those firearms can still be used as intended.”
“We have saved a lot of firearms from being cut up and saved so that they can be used as the second amendment intended,” Anders added.
Despite the differences between the two groups, the event was peaceful.
“We’re different, but we’re not divided,” Williams said. “There’s something meaningful about both groups being here, coexisting. It shows that even on an issue like this, people can approach it in different ways without conflict.”
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