Faculty concerned with Forum explores gender issues students ' daily

Nearly three months after the accidental shoot­ ing death of John Frangis, a 19-year old Elkhart m an, a new program dedicated to his m em ory has taken 166 firearm s off the street. In addition, the success of the plan has inspired South Bend civic leaders to begin to plan a local version of the effort. The idea behind the Elkhart gun buyback pro­ gram, officially titled, “Drop Your Guns," is a sim ­ ple one. Anyone who has a handgun to dispose of can b rin g it in, no questio n s asked , d u rin g a monthly gun buyback day to receive $40. Anyone bringing in a rifle receives $20, and $100 is paid for an automatic weapon. Sitting at John F rang is’ funeral, Duane Beck, pasto r of E lkhart’s Belmont M ennonite church, was moved to begin the buybacks. “God put this in my lap,” Beck said. “I got the idea looking into the faces of 150 stunned kids." S ince th e c o n c e p tio n of th e id ea , F ra n g is ’ friends and other youths who have had their lives touched by violence have planned the three buy­ backs th a t have been held so fa r. The m ost recent was held two weekends ago. The buyback has been successful in more than ju s t ge tting guns off the s tre e ts , accord ing to Beck. “O rganizing the program , and having a cause to get behind has honestly turned around the lives of some of these kids.” So far, more than $5,000 has been paid for the w eapons, Beck said. Much of the m oney w as raised by the youths working with him. “The kids wanted to do it so John wouldn’t die in vain," he said. The South Bend program will also try to involve children, according to organizer Homer Nissley. Nissley, a junior high teacher, heard of the suc­ cess in E lk h art and w orked to get h is p a rish involved. “We w ant to involve kids so this isn’t ju st a one-shot gun buyback," Nissley said. “We can make this a broad ranged educational effort.” With the backing of the South Bend Tribune, organizers of the program met with city officials W ed n e sd a y m o rn in g to p la n th e p ro g ra m . Support for the program is nearly unanim ous, according to Nissley.