Secure Storage
There continues to be a great deal of conversation around the topic of school safety and security. Please know that the safety of our students and staff while at school has been, and will continue to be, the top priority for us in Liberty Public Schools and we will remain committed to always having a focus on these efforts.
Following recent incidents of gun violence in our region and across the nation, many of our staff and families have reached out to not only inquire about our safety and security efforts in LPS, but also seek out opportunities where we can educate and inform our school communities. At our recent Tuesday, July 19, 2022, Board of Education meeting, our Board voted on and adopted a Secure Storage Notification Resolution. The intent of this resolution is to help provide our families and the community with resources to keep children safe, both at school and at home.
While in LPS our focus is on all areas of safety, this resolution has a particular focus on gun violence prevention through the leadership of the district, information sharing, empowerment, and education of our school community. One of the programs that was recently presented to us by several LPS families is the Be SMART campaign, which was developed to reduce the deaths, injuries, and trauma that result when children gain access to unsecured firearms.
The program emphasizes that secure storage is always the adult's responsibility and encourages individuals to take five simple steps to keep kids and families safer:
- SECURE all guns in the home
- MODEL responsible behavior around guns
- ASK about the presence of unsecured guns in other homes
- RECOGNIZE the role of guns in suicide
- TELL their peers to be SMART
Unsecured guns in the home pose a risk to students beyond gun violence in schools. Each year, nearly 350 children under the age of 18 unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else. In addition, almost 1,200 children die by gun suicide each year. In the overwhelming majority of these incidents, the gun used was one that belonged to someone in their home. We strongly encourage you to help protect our community by ensuring any firearms in your home are stored safely.
As is the case with any successful prevention endeavor, it will be of the utmost importance that we partner and work together as an entire community to make a difference. We also fully understand that this is an extremely complex issue that extends to the state and federal levels, but with regard to the topics outlined above, these are items supported on a bipartisan basis to find ways to reduce unnecessary tragedies both at school and home.
Thank you for partnering with us, as we continue to strive for safe school learning environments for our students and staff. If you have any questions or need more information, we encourage you to reach out.
Resources
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America has developed the Be SMART framework to help parents and adults prevent child gun deaths and injuries.
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America han desarrollado la estructura Be SMART “Ser Inteligente” para ayudar a padres y adultos a prevenir muertes y heridas de niños a causa de armas de fuego.
Guns in the Home: Keeping Kids Safe
HealthyChildren.org provides guildeines for keeping children safe in the home and how to have important conversations.
Gun owners can make their homes and communities safer by storing their guns securely. This means storing them locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition. Securing firearms protects children and adults by preventing unintentional shootings and gun suicides.