Guns for Circus Tickets: The Nashville Incentive

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . August 13, 2009 . 12:41PM

Back in July, a Nashville church offered an interesting incentive to people in the area to decrease violence: bring in your guns and for every gun you turn in, we’ll give you 5 free tickets to see a circus that is coming to town.

When I initially heard about this program, the skeptic inside of me smirked and thought “what kind of ghetto wannabe is gonna give up their piece to go see some lions, and tigers and elephants?”

I got mine.

Apparently, A LOT. The program was a HUGE success. And when I say huge success, I mean 84 guns were collected, and 420 tickets were distributed.

The Care for the Kids gun drive took 84 guns out of commission in Nashville. As a citizen, I’m thankful. As a mother, I’m elated. There are plans to do this in other communities and to possibly do it again in Nashville.

My initial skepticism didn’t account for the number of family members who would bring in guns to get them out of their homes. Many of the folks that brought them in were people that were housing people who carried these guns. I don’t know what crimes were prevented by this action. But I know that there are 84+ potential news stories that I don’t have to worry about seeing on the News.

I can’t wait for the circus to come to town again. I wonder what other incentives we could use to decrease violence in our communities. The creativity and ingenuity of others astounds me. Never underestimate the power of simple pleasures.