GREENSBORO — The Greensboro City Council has approved a resolution to give the Greensboro Coliseum’s proceeds from an upcoming gun and knife show to Gun Stoppers, a program that provides cash for information that leads to an arrest or the confiscation of an illegal or illegally possessed firearm in Guilford County. The show brings in an estimated $40,000 in revenue to the Coliseum.
The resolution was prompted by a council discussion about whether the city-owned Coliseum should be used as a venue to sell weapons.
“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,” 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.”
Gun Stoppers is part of Greensboro/Guilford County Crime Stoppers, a nonprofit organization that teams up with media and the community to advertise unsolved crimes and wanted people. Gun Stoppers provides a minimum of $250 for information, and tips can be given anonymously. Since the program started in 2017, Gun Stoppers has helped Greensboro Police recover 44 firearms and $61,000 worth of stolen property, arrest 32 people on 118 felony charges, and solve 32 open cases.
To report an illegal firearm, contact Crime Stoppers by calling 336-373-1000 or texting to 274637 using the key word badboyz. Tips may also be submitted online at www.ggcrimestop.org.
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