The same guns that are seized as crime scene evidence in Syracuse could now reappear on the city’s streets – this time, as jewelry wrapped around necks, wrists and fingers.

Syracuse is among three cities that have partnered with Liberty United, an online U.S.-based company that launched in June to repurpose guns and bullets into jewelry and art. Police departments in Syracuse, Philadelphia and Newburgh, N.Y. supply the company with the materials, which founder and CEO Peter Thum said are typically items seized as evidence in closed investigations or the loot of gun buyback programs.

The purpose, Thum said, is to “reduce gun violence in the U.S. and get people engaged in solving the problem.”

For every purchase, a customer has an option to select a city as a beneficiary of the funds, Thum said. This money will then support programming within the city to combat gun violence. If the customer does not choose a beneficiary city, the funds will be divided evenly.

In Syracuse, the nonprofit organization that will receive the funds has not yet been determined, Thum said. Any money raised under a Syracuse preference is being saved for this organization upon announcement.

“I am pleased to welcome Liberty United into the city of Syracuse,” Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner said in a Sept. 25 press release. “Witnessing the destructive effect gun violence has in our communities, any effort to raise awareness and get guns off our streets is important.”

Thum said building a relationship with individual cities has been a critical part of the program since its inception last summer. City governments are influential both in providing gun material and connecting nonprofits with those geared toward the reduction of gun violence.

Company representatives reached out to many cities before the company had even launched, he said. One of the successful connections was with the mayor’s office in Syracuse, he said, and the relationship built from there.

“It happened pretty fast,” he said. Although Thum said he traveled to Syracuse for an official announcement of the partnership last week, Syracuse has been a partner since the middle of June.

Jewelry designed by Liberty United artist Philip Crangi runs between $85 and $1,485, according to Liberty United’s website. The company also hired another designer, Pamela Love, about two weeks ago, Thum said. Her work will be available on the website at a later time.

Less than three months old, Liberty United is just starting to look into expanding beyond online sales to retail as well, he said.

“You’ll see it get into some retail places in the next few months,” Thum said.

Liberty United localizes the mission of Fonderie 47, a similar but separate online company that operates in Africa. Thum founded Fonderie 47 in 2009, according to the Liberty United website. The two companies share some staff, he said.

“It’s something we’d been thinking about for a while,” Thum said.

 

nagorny@syr.edu

@Nicki_Gorny

Published on October 2, 2013 at 1:26 am