California Moms Demand Action Applaud Introduction of Resolution to Require Schools to Send Information Home About Responsible Firearms Storage

LOS ANGELES – The California chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today applauded Los Angeles Unified School District board member Scott Schmerelson for introducing a resolution to require information be sent home with students to educate parents on their responsibility under the law to responsibly store any firearms they own. Parents or guardians would need to sign and return the letter acknowledging that they have read the information. With over 700,000 students, the Los Angeles Unified School District would be the largest school district in the nation requiring that responsible firearm storage information be sent home with students.

“This resolution is an innovative way to ensure parents know just how crucial it is that guns are stored responsibly in the home,” said Jessica Stamen, a volunteer with the California chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “California law requires responsible storage of firearms, but these laws are only effective if parents know the law. Irresponsibly stored guns are a risk in our homes, and they are also a risk to school safety. We applaud Board Member Schmerelson for bringing this resolution to the board.”

Moms Demand Action will support Schmerelson’s effort by gathering signatures on a petition in support of the policy to require information on responsible storage to be sent home with LAUSD students to educate parents of their responsibility under city and state law to properly secure any firearms they may possess. Moms Demand Action will present the petition to the LAUSD school board on the date of its anticipated vote on the resolution in June.

The majority of school shootings occur after a student has accessed unsecured guns from a parent or family member’s home. Additionally, nearly 600 American children die by firearm suicide each year and over 100 children and teens are unintentionally shot and killed. This data suggests that responsible storage laws, and awareness and implementation in homes, can be an effective tool in addressing the source of guns used in school gun violence.

A new study also estimates that if more adults in households with children and teens responsibly stored their guns, it could result in fewer firearm deaths from suicides and unintentional shootings among American youth. The authors of this study estimated that if half of households switched from leaving their guns unlocked to safely storing them all locked, a third of youth gun suicides and unintentional deaths could be prevented – saving at least 250 lives in a single year.