Kids & Unsecured Guns: “ASK Day” Aims to Prevent Accidental Shootings by 30Seconds Mom

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, along with the National Parent-Teacher Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other partner organizations, will recognize Wednesday, June 21, as ASK Day. The ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Campaign reminds parents and caregivers the importance of asking if there are unlocked guns in the homes where their children visit and play. The dangers of an unsecured gun in any home are real:

• Nearly 50 children and teens are shot in the U.S. every day.
• Approximately 1.7 million children in the U.S. live with unsecured guns.
• 80 percent of unintentional firearm deaths involving kids younger than 15 occur in the home.
• In two-thirds of school shootings, the gun comes from the home of a parent or relative.

“Millions of Americans bring guns in their homes thinking it makes their family safer, but every day across our country parents learn how incredibly tragic that misperception can be,” said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 

Ashlyn Melton, who lost her son Noah to an accidental shooting at a friend's house, said, "In all those years of play dates and sleepovers, I never had anyone ask me about my guns, and I never asked anyone else about theirs. I didn't think to ask. I would have never let Noah go if I had known they had guns lying around loaded and unlocked. Please believe me when I say that one question may save your child's life."

The pledge can be found at AskingSavesKids.org.