Foundation Programs
The Maine Gun Safety Coalition Foundation, an independent organization, works to raise awareness of gun violence and provides tools and solutions to protect our communities.
Gun Give Back Day
MGSCF collaborates with local law enforcement in numerous communities across Maine to host Gun Give Back Day, providing an opportunity for residents to turn in unwanted guns and ammunition. Our next biennial Gun Give Back Day will be in 2024.
In 2019 and again in 2022, we collected over 500 guns and over 25,000 rounds of ammunition each year.
Residents turned in guns and ammunition for various reasons, including young children or a family member with depression or other mental illness were present in the home, or they wanted to be relieved of inherited guns, duplicative guns, and old guns that did not work.
MGSCF works with a Swedish nonprofit, Humanium Metal to breakdown guns and convert them into sellable products.
Humanium Metal operates internationally to raise awareness of gun violence by converting guns into sellable products such as pens, sculptures, and jewelry, using the proceeds to expand its efforts. MGSCF is proud to be the first US organization to work with Humanium Metal to repurpose unwanted guns collected in Maine. Each year additional communities participate, broadening our geographic reach.
>> If you are interested in participating in this event in your community Contact Us
Free Gun Locks
As of 2021, 47% of adults living in Maine are gun owners and
nationally, 50% of gun owners do not secure their guns safely.
MGSCF has distributed over 25,000 free gun locks to Maine police departments, sheriffs’ offices, social services agencies, medical facilities, and other organizations.
MGSCF currently provides free cable locks which are now a safer, more cost-effective safe storage solution than trigger locks.
A cable lock is a cable that goes through the weapon, preventing it from being fired by blocking the barrel or the use of ammunition. Trigger locks enclose the trigger guards of most guns so that the trigger cannot be pulled, but are not as effective as cable locks.
>> If you would like a free cable lock or want to distribute them in your community Contact Us.
Pediatricians Program
Maine has experienced several tragedies in Sagadahoc County and another in Franklin County where children have gained access to loaded guns that were not safely stored, resulting in firearm-related injuries and death. In response the Maine Gun Safety Coalition Foundation is developing the Pediatricians Program. It will:
Train pediatric healthcare providers on how to best counsel parents about the importance of safe firearm storage in their homes and in the homes their children frequent.
Provide free gun locks and educational materials that participating healthcare providers can distribute to their patients' families
>> For more information Contact Us
Community Speakers Program
We provide free speakers to interested organizations, towns, communities, schools and individuals who wish to to host an event to share information about gun violence in Maine and nationally, its cost in lives and trauma, and possible solutions.