Explorer Javier Rivas, right, inspects a weapon with Medford police community service officer Vega Arturo. If Julie Wheeler wanted to launch a small war, she had plenty of weapons at her disposal Saturday. Instead, the founder of Ceasefire Oregon is battling to remove hazardous guns from homes while promoting gun safety. The first such turn-in program in Southern Oregon saw the most weapons ever turned in for Ceasefire Oregon, a nonprofit organization established in Portland in 1994. They started handing out IOUs, and will have to raise money to honor them.
Mediation Works is a nonprofit group that promotes conflict resolution education.
People or businesses that want to sponsor Ceasefire Medford can call Mediation Works at 770-2468. Too many times that gun will be used by a member of the family for a suicide or in a moment of fury. It may even go off in an accident. Statistically, a gun is 43 times more likely to be used to kill a family member or friend rather than an intruder, according to Ceasefire Oregon. Under the Ceasefire program, police officers collect the guns, then destroy them.