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The American Federation of Teachers passed a groundbreaking resolution on gun violence prevention at its national convention.
The resolution builds on past efforts by committing the union to work with school districts to educate parents around the dangers of unsecured firearms in the home. According to the U.S. Secret Service, nearly 7 million kids live in a home with an unsecured, loaded firearm and most school shootings involve a student finding an unsecured gun in the home and bringing it to school.
“Educators, staff and their students deserve a safe school environment, free from fear. But our nation’s unrelenting gun violence epidemic—and our federal government’s lack of will to tackle it—have made our schools far more dangerous places, where students learn to hide before they learn to read,” said Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers. “Since the 1999 Columbine massacre, there have been more than 435 school shootings, often involving a firearm left unsecured in the home. Unlike Congress, our members can’t ignore this public safety issue of our time.”
Last year, Colorado Ceasefire helped pass HB25-1250, Gun Violence Prevention & Parents of Students, which requires the state Office of Gun Violence Prevention to post gun violence prevention materials on its website for school districts to access and distribute to parents, guardians, and legal custodians of elementary or secondary school students. Local education providers are required to provide the materials to parents and guardians at the beginning of each school year, and to post the materials or a link to the materials on the local education provider’s website.
Our team is currently working with Moms Demand Action to determine what percentage of schools are communicating this information to parents. Are you interested in helping with this project? Email info@coloradoceasefire.org to get involved!
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