Posted on 02/08/2007 7:02:25 PM PST by Graybeard58
TUSCALOOSA | Members of a community action group are asking residents in west Tuscaloosa to turn in their guns.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, members of the recently formed All for One Tuscaloosa Standing Against Violence will gather at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School to receive guns that residents turn in, said the Rev. Clarence Sutton, president of the Tuscaloosa chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Sutton and Maurice Muhammad, minister of the Nation of Islam Study Group in Tuscaloosa, organized All for One Tuscaloosa last fall after several homicides shook area neighborhoods.
Twenty-six homicides were reported by law enforcement agencies in Tuscaloosa County 2006.
“We will give a small incentive for people to turn in their guns, with no questions asked," Sutton said. He said that some youths hesitate to turn in weapons because they are afraid that others will keep theirs. But even if only one resident turned in a gun, the effort would be meaningful, Sutton and Muhammad said.
“It’s more about bringing a spiritual rite of passage," said Muhammad, noting that the purpose of the call to disarm is partly to open a dialogue with community members and listen to their concerns.
A planning meeting to discuss goals of the community action group will be held at 7 p.m. Friday at the Benjamin-Barnes YMCA on 2939 18th St.
Sutton said that residents, municipal and county government officials and law enforcement officers attended a series of community meetings last fall and have offered help in the nonviolence effort. Muhammad said that more than 400 attended a series of meals that coalition hosted in October to encourage an end to violence.
He said the coalition wants to conduct outreach programs in schools, colleges and technical schools, especially at Shelton State Community College’s C.A. Fredd campus, to promote peaceful conflict resolution.
Another goal of the coalition is to teach job skills to young adults in west Tuscaloosa. Muhammad said a skills program recently started at the C.A. Fredd campus is promising.
A rally in October was followed by a series of dinners for residents to discuss their concerns. A third public awareness campaign, “21 Days of Awareness," was held to get more support for the community, Sutton said.
“We’re trying to cut down on the violence and help our community seek alternatives to it," he said.
Reach Lucinda Coulter at lucinda/s.coulter@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0206. .
Great link. Thanks a million.
between the illegal Mexicans and the terrorist I just bought a few new (toys)North Carolina is a magnet for both these groups. Out side NC our drivers license is worthless for ID.(anyone can get one),thank you to our Gov Mr. taxley
You know, the only thing good about this whole situation is that my wife no longer gives me angry looks when I come home with a new "toy."
Liberals asking us to turn in our guns is bad enough. Anyone that gives their gun to a muzzie deserves whatever bad events follow.
I see this as another "gun control " issue more than anything else. And I don't think it's any particular threat to any Alabamians who wouldn't otherwise listen to the NOI.
Ironically, this is a position that would certainly win the support of the KKK, since it appears to be an attempt to disarm the violent black subculture in Tuscaloosa. Just further proving that politics do, indeed, make strange bedfellows...
And just how many of the 26 people who committed those 26 homicides are expected to turn in their guns? At least 25, I'm sure. I mean, why wouldn't a murderer turn in the gun he used in a crime?
I'm sure that I'm not the only one who noticed the mobilization of the gun-grabbers... It's going to be a very long couple of years.
Mark
also a good way to get some cash on a crappy gun. i'm hoping someone will be holding a turn in near here when i wear out my .357. that's probably the only way i'll get anything out of it.
Hasn't the nation of islam and the kkk always advocated seperation of the races?
They have a similiar philosophy in that they hate anyone who isn't like them.
here's an idea to help stop violence. Not just in this little community, but WORLD WIDE! How about we call people to come and hand over their Korans? Let's hold dinners and open a dialogue about "NO RIOTS AND NO VIOLENCE over cartoons or an unveiled woman."
In the immortal words of Nancy Reagan - "Just Say No".
Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!
AmericanArchConservative
"The Final Crusade has commenced: Don't go to a gunfight armed with a knife when you have a perfectly good assault rifle available!"
What's next? The Nation of Islam teams with the KKK to ask for weapons turn-in???
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