wiredinUSA September 2014

INDEX

MAKING THENEWS Rifles for rebar

Gerdau Steel Mill, in Rancho Cucamonga, has formed rebar from tens of thousands of handguns, rifles and other weaponry collected by the Los Angeles county sheriff's department. The products will be used in county infrastructure projects. The 21 st annual Gun Melt event, held in August, resulted in over 4,600 confiscated weapons obtained by 12 law enforcement agencies through the department’s Gifts for Guns program. Under the program, gun owners are invited to hand in weapons anonymously in exchange for a gift card: $200 for an assault weapon; $100 for a handgun, rifle, or shotgun; and $50 for a non-operational firearm.

cause, and the county’s department of public works trucks the weapons to the mill.

Since the program began, the department has melted down 178,167 weapons. The metal is reused as rebar for area highways and bridges in Arizona, California and Nevada. Gerdau's vice president, Mark Olson, calls the annual event: “an opportunity to make a positive impact on our community.” “Gerdau is melting materials that could otherwise damage our community and transforming them into steel that will be repurposed to create the buildings, roads and bridges we use daily.”

The smelter and necessary personnel at Gerdau Steel Mill aredonated to theannual

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wiredInUSA - September 2014