Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Gun Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parents, mental-health provider and student urge district to promote 'Be SMART' safe storage messaging
Summary
Three public commenters asked the St. Vrain Board of Education on Feb. 12 to add the Be SMART firearm storage message to district communications and outreach to reduce accidental shootings and youth suicide.
Three speakers during public comment at the St. Vrain Valley School District Board of Education meeting on Feb. 12 urged the board to adopt and promote the Be SMART firearm safety message district-wide to encourage secure storage of firearms in homes.
Susan Long, a district substitute teacher and parent, told the board that Colorado law requires secure storage where a minor lives and cited national estimates she said show 4,600,000 children live in homes with an unlocked, loaded firearm. "I urge you to adopt the Be Smart message and be part of the prevention solution," Long said, recommending the district add the message to the website, school newsletters, PTO events and back-to-school materials.
Christina Shaw, a mental-health provider who works with district students, described seeing high-achieving students with unrecognized suicidal ideation and said reminding families about secure storage is a practical prevention step. "We need to be advocates for these kids," Shaw said.
Miles Shaw, a junior at Niwot High School, called on the board to "be vocal, proactive, and involved in crafting smarter gun policy" at the local level and emphasized that many school shooters and youth who die by firearm suicide obtain weapons from their own homes. "How many innocent sons, students, friends, and brothers could be saved by communicating safe gun storage with a parent first before it's too late?" he said.
Board members did not respond during public comment, consistent with long-standing board practice to listen but not reply during that period. The speakers asked the board to consider district messaging and outreach to support safe storage and suicide prevention.
