Trade in a gun and get a grocery gift card good at Market Basket.

The New Bedford and Fall River police departments, in partnership with the UMass Dartmouth Leduc Center for Civic Engagement, will host a “Guns for Groceries” day on Saturday, November 17.

The program was inspired by the October 17 Rev. Dr. Robert Lawrence Lecture at UMass Dartmouth, which featured two survivors of the Parkland, Florida school shooting. The late Rev. Lawrence had orchestrated numerous gun giveback programs in southeastern Massachusetts, removing more than 3,100 guns from the streets.

“Guns for Groceries” will take place on Saturday, November 17, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at two locations:

Blessed Trinity Church, 1340 Plymouth Ave., Fall River

Pilgrim United Church of Christ, 634 Purchase St., New Bedford

The program will offer Market Basket gift cards and Domino’s pizza coupons for guns--no questions asked. Anyone returning a shotgun or long gun will receive a $50 gift card to Market Basket. Handguns returned will earn a $75 gift card. Domino's pizza coupons will also be distributed.

On Tuesday, November 13 at 9 a.m., New Bedford Police Chief Joseph Cordeiro will be my guest on The Phil Paleologos Show. He’ll be talking about an opportunity to ensure the community’s safety by turning in firearms that individuals no longer wish to keep or have a use for. We’ll also cover why it’s important for parents to turn in firearms that their children or young adults may possess unlawfully.

Many people purchase guns for various reasons, but sometimes they end up not being used much, left unsecured and forgotten, according to Rev. David Lima, pastor of the New Seasons Worship Center and executive minister of Inter-Church Council of Greater New Bedford. That's when they can fall into the hands of a curious youngster, or worse, a person contemplating harm to themselves or others. In recent years, there’s been an increase in suicide by gun, an alarming trend on the SouthCoast.

No questions will be asked of anyone.

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