Commissioners hear questions about Community Partnership for Gun Safety; sheriff, detectives stress voluntary, educational aims

At a Monroe County Board of Commissioners meeting, public commenters and county officials discussed the Community Partnership for Gun Safety Program, a violence-intervention and prevention initiative funded by a grant of about $695,000 that county officials said is intended to promote safe gun storage and education.

The discussion drew questions from parents and residents about a student questionnaire that will be used by program staff to assess exposure to gun-related incidents. A public commenter recited sample survey questions, saying parents should be able to review the questionnaire and give consent. The commenter read, in part, example items asking whether students had seen someone threaten another person with a gun, seen someone hurt another person with a gun, or seen someone attempt or complete suicide with a gun.

Commissioner Christie and others noted the grant’s goal is to gather data to direct educational programming. Detective Wayne Parrish, identified in the meeting as Detective Wayne Parrish, said the questionnaire items are "nationally normed" and used on prior national surveys. He added the norms remove the need for an institutional review board and argued the questions are designed to identify education needs rather than to identify individual students or households. He said survey distribution will require school-district permission before any instrument is made public.

Sheriff Serrano, identified in the meeting as Sheriff Serrano, pushed back on characterizations of the program as a seizure effort, saying critics called it a "gun grabbing program," and responding: "It's not about that. It's about, gun safety." Serrano and Detective Parrish both said the program emphasizes voluntary participation and education on safe storage and handling. Serrano said the sheriff's office would store firearms only on a voluntary basis if an owner asked and that the program would not send officers to confiscate weapons.

Program leaders said the county team has presented the initiative to several local school districts and was awaiting formal approvals before administering any survey in schools. Detective Parrish and other presenters said the program is newly launched in the community and that outreach has included presentations to three school districts, with more scheduled.

No formal vote or directive by the commissioners was taken on the Community Partnership for Gun Safety Program during this meeting. Officials described the effort as an educational, voluntary program tied to a violence-intervention grant and said they will seek school-district permission before distributing surveys. Several residents asked that parents be allowed to review surveys before students receive them.

The meeting record includes county staff references to other grant and budget matters, but the Community Partnership for Gun Safety discussion concluded without a commissioner motion to adopt policy or to require a particular school-district action.

The county listed the program as the Community Partnership for Gun Safety Program in remarks at the meeting and said the grant award supporting the effort was approximately $695,000 and had been issued in 2024; officials said they had only recently begun program work and were in the process of outreach to schools.

Ending

Speakers emphasized education and voluntary participation as the program’s core. Commissioners and program presenters said they would continue outreach to school districts and that any survey distribution would follow district approvals and the county’s stated process for school cooperation.