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Lake Wales proclaims April Child Gun Safety Education Month; local nonprofit to lead outreach
Summary
The city read a proclamation recognizing child-involved unintentional firearm injury as preventable and designated April as Child Gun Safety Education Month; Robert Demet of Engage of Polk County accepted the proclamation and described recent local child fatalities prompting the campaign.
The City of Lake Wales read a proclamation declaring April as Child Gun Safety Education Month, citing a rise in child-involved unintentional shootings and findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The proclamation identified unintentional firearm injury deaths among children as preventable and urged education and safety efforts.
Robert Demet, executive director of Engage of Polk County, accepted the proclamation on behalf of the nonprofit and described the organization’s firearm-safety training work. “In 2025, Polk County experienced 3 child gun fatalities in the first 4 months of the year,” Demet said, and described the nonprofit’s goal to educate youth to prevent such injuries and deaths.
Demet said the organization has established April as Child Gun Safety Education Month and thanked the commission for the proclamation. He also noted the group’s local outreach and used a flamingo as a light‑hearted mascot for the Florida campaign.
Why it matters: The proclamation recognizes a public-health concern and highlights a local nonprofit taking responsibility for community education and training on safe firearm handling for youth.
Next steps: Engage of Polk County will spearhead outreach associated with the proclamation; no formal funding or programmatic approval was recorded during the meeting.
