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St. Louis County Council adopts Smart Week resolution to promote secure gun storage
Summary
The County Council unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing Aug. 25–29, 2025 as Smart Week, endorsing the Be SMART campaign and County Public Health’s gun-lock distribution and education efforts; a community partner urged parents to 'lock up the guns.'
The St. Louis County Council on Aug. 26 adopted a resolution recognizing Aug. 25–29, 2025 as Smart Week and encouraging residents to practice secure firearm storage to protect children and teens.
The resolution, introduced by Councilwoman Clancy and co-sponsored by Council members Bangard and Webb, cites national and local data and names the Be SMART public-education campaign developed by Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. The clerk recorded a unanimous roll-call vote of seven ayes to adopt Resolution No. 1.
Peggy Neufeld, identified in the meeting as co-lead for Be Smart Saint Louis, said the campaign focuses on five actions — secure, model, ask, recognize and tell — and urged parents to consider secure storage as part of back-to-school routines. Neufeld cited CDC 2023 statistics and local news reports, telling the council: “Lock up the guns.” She said local partners include the St. Louis County Department of Public Health, which provides free cable gun locks and education.
The resolution specifically references the county health department’s gun-lock distribution and partnerships with community-based organizations. It asks the administrative director to send a certified copy of the resolution to Smart Week coordinators as an expression of appreciation.
The council did not take separate policy action beyond adopting the recognition and did not set new county requirements in this meeting. The county’s public-health materials and the Be SMART website were identified as the primary outreach tools for the effort.
The council moved on to other business after a short presentation and a question about the timing of the county’s outreach efforts; no vote on a related ordinance or budget was recorded at this meeting.
