GREENSBORO, NC -- Greensboro city leaders don’t have the authority to cancel the upcoming Greensboro Gun and Knife Show but they can reallocate the money for another purpose.
City leaders approved to donate money from the show up to $40,000 to the Gun Stoppers program.
Related: Greensboro City Council Talks Guns
The program gives cash in exchange for information that could lead to an arrest or the confiscation of illegal or illegally owned guns in Guilford County.
The solution was motived by the huge debate on whether the City-owned Greensboro Coliseum should be used as a place to sell weapons.
In response to the recent decision, Mayor Nancy Vaughan said, “We live in a City that has issues with gun violence, homicides and concerns about school safety. We are working on a variety of public safety initiatives to decrease crime. Ultimately we decided to have the show and to invest in Gun Stoppers, to help get illegal guns off the streets.”
The Greensboro Gun and Knife Show will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum in August.
In March, Mayor Vaughan wanted to cancel the show after the recent Florida school shooting. However, the Greensboro City Council does not have the authority to cancel the Greensboro Gun and Knife Show, according to a memo from City Attorney Tom Carruthers.
In a letter to City Council members, the City Attorney said that the City is not required to host gun shows at the Coliseum. However, Matt Brown, the Coliseum Director, has full control over what events are held at the events center. The decision to cancel the gun show would be up to him.
Mayor Nancy Vaughan said, “It’s important to note that we weren't considering banning any guns or the sale of guns or ammunition. We have many sporting goods stores, pawn shops and guns stores that do business within the city limits. We were not proposing any restrictions on their businesses."
Since the Gun Stoppers program began in 2017, it has helped Greensboro Police in recovering 44 guns along with $61,000 of stolen property, the arrest of 32 people on 118 felony charges, and helped to solve 32 open cases.
To report an illegal gun, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000 or by texting 274637 using the key word ‘badboyz.’ Tips can also be reported online at www.ggcrimestop.org.
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