Kansas

Kansas City, Missouri, church preparing for anonymous firearm surrender event

Published

1 year ago

September 4, 2024

Kansas City, Missouri, church preparing for anonymous firearm surrender event

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Central Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, Missouri, is preparing to launch a safe firearm surrender site.

“The neighborhood we are in, as recently as last weekend, there were shootings right within the church’s boundaries almost,” said Mary Merola, an elder at the church. “We see it happen all the time.”

The church is located at 3501 Campbell St.

Merola also is a member of the church’s Safe Surrender Task Force.

She told KSHB 41 that church leadership has been waiting for the right opportunity to promote safety in the community.

“While we believe in prayer and good thoughts, we are an action-oriented group,” Merola said. “Our goal was to make a tangible difference in our community of getting weapons off the street.”

The new initiative is in conjunction with Guns for Garden,a faith-based organization.

“What we found in terms of common ground with Guns to Garden; it allowed a safe surrender of unwanted weapons,” Merola said.

“RAWtools’ mission to “disarm hearts and forge peace” is driven by our ability to make a choice about the tools we use to navigate conflict,” according to the group’s website.

“We’ve done our due diligence in researching and evaluating,” Merola said.

Jake Weller/KSHB

Mary Merola, an Elder in the Central Presbyterian Church and member of the Safe Surrender Task force committee discusses the church’s efforts in creating a safer community.

The process to donate an unwanted firearm is anonymous. Guns to Garden policy decommissions guns according to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency standards.

Members of the media and law enforcement are not allowed during the surrender event.

Those who want to surrender a weapon will drive into the rear parking lot of Central Presbyterian Church.

They will be greeted by volunteers, and once staff is ready to dismember the weapon, a trained firearms expert will break down the surrendered gun and make sure it isn’t loaded.

Staff stationed with power tools will then cut the weapon into pieces so it can no longer be used.

Those surrendering weapons will have the option to participate in prayer or counseling from trained volunteers.

“We want the individuals to be completely comfortable with surrendering that unwanted weapon,” said Merola. “Law enforcement has their place. We know they are professionals and very concerned about the problem. Their approach is a law enforcement approach. Ours is a safe surrender. They are two different things.”

Guns to Garden will take the weapon scraps and forge the material into gardening tools.

George Rousis, a local blacksmith operating Organic Iron Concepts, will form the material into a tool.

“All my work has been about making things more fluid and more living as far as taking a cold hard object and giving it a little bit of life.” Rousis told KSHB 41.

For the time being, Rousis doesn’t know what tool will come to mind until he sees the firearm itself.

His work allows for a piece of the material’s former use to be showcased in the final product. He, alongside Central Presbyterian Church, agree on the mission of creating a safer community for the next generation.

“I grew up around guns, hunting in Pennsylvania, living in a small town,” Rousis said. “Guns were an every day thing, but not a problem necessarily. Handguns don’t seem to be necessary and certainly assault rifles and automatic or semi-automatic guns don’t seem to really have a place in our society.”

Rousis told KSHB 41 that last week a person brandished a firearm at him. That wasn’t the first time it happened. Rousis and his children were in the Westport Entertainment District when someone pulled a gun on them.

George Rousis, Blacksmith, is offering his services to build garden tools out of surrendered firearms.

“Shaun Brady and what just happened in Brookside, which is a shame that happened in Brookside, but it shouldn’t have happened anywhere in town,” he said. “I think lots of good can come out of it. Some little kid in a house can’t have the opportunity to pick up a gun that was there before. That gun won’t have the opportunity to get in the wrong hands if it’s disposed of this way.”

Central Presbyterian Church leadership told KSHB 41 its goal with the event is to encourage the community to surrender firearms responsibly.

The church is not buying the guns to put the weapons back into circulation.

Church leaders said the weapons and its owners will be in a safe and nurturing environment, regardless of how the weapon may have been used in its lifetime.

“It is not our concern about serial numbers or how the weapon may have been used.” Rousis said. “Our purpose is these people want these weapons out of their homes. They want an outlet so these weapons can be chopped up and not used as weapons again. It’s not our mission to do investigative work. We know the model has been successful and that’s why the model is right for us.”

KSHB 41 asked Rousis if the church was permitted by the city or state to surrender firearms. Rousis said Guns to Garden operates its policies and practices and permits are not needed.

“Tragically, crime happens every day, and death happens every day,” he said. “We are confident it will be a positive outcome for this event.”

Central Presbyterian Church is seraching for volunteers to work at the safe surrender event.

The church held held a meeting Tuesday night to explain the program to interested volunteers. Training sessions for volunteers will be held September 16th and 18th ahead of the October 12th surrender event.

For more information on the event, call 816-931-2515 or visit their website.

KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. Share your story idea with Ryan.

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Kansas

Kansas Orders Trans Drivers to Surrender Licenses With One Day’s Notice

Published

24 hours ago

February 26, 2026

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Kansas Orders Trans Drivers to Surrender Licenses With One Day’s Notice

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The Kansas Division of Vehicles (DOV) has instructed transgender residents to surrender their updated driver’s licenses, as one of the nation’s most extreme anti-trans laws takes effect this week.

Trans Kansans received letters from the DOV on Wednesday informing them that licenses and other state ID papers that do not match a person’s assigned sex at birth are considered invalid and must be surrendered to the state effective immediately, ostensibly giving them less than 24 hours to make accommodations, according to multiple copies of the letter reviewed by the Kansas City Star.

“Please note that the Legislature did not include a grace period for updating credentials,” the letter read in part. “That means that once the law is officially enacted, your current credentials will be invalid immediately, and you may be subject to additional penalties if you are operating a vehicle without a valid credential.” Affected residents were “directed to surrender your current credential to the Kansas Division of Vehicles” and receive a new ID — at their own expense, as SB 244 did not provide state funding to cover the reversions, the Star noted.

The move comes as a result of Kansas’ SB 244, which became law on Thursday and instructs state agencies to reverse gender marker changes on official documents. Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the legislation, but the Republican supermajority overrode her veto last week.

Kansas officially recognizes only “male” and “female” as recorded at birth as valid sexes, per a state law passed in 2023. About 1,700 people are expected to have their licenses invalidated as a result of the new law, according to a legislative analysis of SB 244 conducted by the state House. The law will also invalidate amended birth certificates that were issued with a corrected gender marker.

The LGBTQ Foundation of Kansas shared a copy of one letter on Instagram, with identifying information redacted. Representatives for the nonprofit noted that some Kansas counties will hold special elections next week, and trans residents without valid photo ID cards will not be able to cast a vote under existing state law.

At least three other states have passed laws banning gender marker changes on driver’s licenses, but Kansas is now the only U.S. state to require such previous changes be reverted, according to KCTV.

“The persecution is the point,” said Rep. Abi Boatman, Kansas’ only trans state legislator, in a statement to the Star on Wednesday. “It tells me that Kansas Republicans are interested in being on the vanguard of the culture war and in a race to the bottom,” she added in a comment to KCTV.

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Kansas

Kansas City man charged with murder in fatal shooting of reported missing teenage girl

Published

2 days ago

February 25, 2026

Press Room

Kansas City man charged with murder in fatal shooting of reported missing teenage girl

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas City man has now been charged in the death of a teenage girl who was reported missing and found dead a day later from a gunshot.

Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson announced Wednesday that Eric R. Phillips II has been charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and abandoning a corpse, following the girl’s November 2025 death.

Elayjah Murray had been reported missing on Nov. 28, 2025. As investigators looked into her disappearance, the Independence Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Unit learned that she’d possibly been shot.

Eric R. Phillips II has been charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and abandoning a corpse, following the girl’s November 2025 death.(Independence Police Department/Facebook)

Multiple witnesses and surveillance footage helped detectives identify Phillips as the shooter. Court documents say he shot Murray multiple times while she was in the back of his car during the early morning hours of Nov. 28.

A day later, police with the Kansas City Missouri Police Department found Murray in Kansas City. Phillips’ cell phone pinged in the area where Murray’s body was located.

Phillips’ bond has been set at $350,000 cash only.

Johnson said Phillips was charged on Dec. 3, 2025, under seal. The case was unsealed Wednesday in an effort to help locate Phillips.

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Kansas

Kansas marijuana debate: tax dollars vs. crime concerns

Published

3 days ago

February 25, 2026

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Kansas marijuana debate: tax dollars vs. crime concerns

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Kansas House Democrats on Tuesday discussed separate bills to legalize recreational and medical marijuana use, citing a recent Kansas Speaks survey showing 70% of Kansans support medical legalization and 60% support recreational use.

Supporters say the legislation would generate revenue for affordable housing, childcare and property tax relief. Opponents say legalization would worsen the state’s mental health crisis and increase crime.

What supporters say

Rep. Ford Carr, D-Wichita, said the bills would direct significant revenue back to residents.

“In this legislation, we’re gonna take those funds — which could be, you know, we’re talking about $1 billion and we’re gonna give that back to the people,” Carr said.

Rep. Heather Meyer, D-Overland Park, said Kansans are already crossing state lines to access cannabis.

“I live right on the Kansas-Missouri border. The closest dispensary is 12 minutes away[…]We’ve got cannabis on the other side of the state line. You’ve got minivans with JoCo tags on them, Wyandotte tags on them,” Meyer said.

Rep. John Alcala, D-Topeka, said constituents have long pressed him on the issue.

“I used to receive tons of emails from parents whose children needed medical cannabis for seizures. I still receive an overwhelming amount of emails from our veterans suffering from PTSD,” Alcala said.

What opponents say

Katie Patterson, a representative for Stand Up for Kansas who spent more than 18 years with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, said she opposes the bills and that crime has increased in states where marijuana has been legalized in some form.

“I’ve seen firsthand how substance use, abuse and addiction impact lives, families, communities and create strains on criminal justice systems,” Patterson said.

Patterson said the FDA should serve as the standard for what qualifies as medicine.

“Medicines should be based on clinical data and robust amounts of research demonstrating medical efficacy for treatment of certain conditions,” Patterson said.

She also said increased access leads to increased use and warned of consequences for the state’s mental health system.

“We in this state have a mental health crisis. This is a policy conversation that would further exacerbate that crisis that we currently have on our hands with treatment in Kansas,” Patterson said.

What happens next

The bills were referred to the House Federal and State Affairs Committee. No hearing has been scheduled. Supporters said they do not expect the bills to advance this session but said they intend to continue raising the issue.

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