The first gun donated in Philly and in Colorado was an AK-47.  It was powerful to see the same vision happening about 1700 miles apart.  And we’ve been doing this together ever since.  Mike and Shane wrote Beating Guns together in 2019.  We now have an ever-growing network of gun-choppers and artists all over the country who are helping to decommission unwanted firearms and repurpose them.  Our dream is to have a chop saw within 3 hours of any location in the US so we can respond to any crisis or show up to destroy any surrendered gun. 

Sometimes we say that transforming guns is the easy part of our work.  The hard part is changing policies and challenging a culture of violence.  But we are comprehensive in our vision to build a world free of violence – we are committed to transforming hearts, changing policies, and healing neighborhoods. On our website, you’ll find all sorts of resources on de-escalation, violence interruption, peacemaking, and nonviolence training.  You also find ways to take action when it comes to war and nuclear weapons, information on restorative justice and common sense laws that could save lives, and you’ll see practical tools for anger management and conflict resolution.  We are organizing on all fronts!  Violence is something we learn – and it is something we can unlearn. We are committed to building a movement of peacemakers who work to build a better world together!

We’re doing it, y’all.  And we’re always looking for more friends and partners.  Thanks for supporting the RAWtools movement.