Bexley presentation focuses on keeping children safe from gun violence

Disturbed by school shootings nationwide in recent years, Bexley parent and nurse Deborah Grayson decided to do something.

Grayson joined the Be SMART, a nonprofit organization that aims to educate parents and residents on how to prevent gun-related child deaths and injuries and is working to raise awareness of the issue.

In the aftermath of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting Feb. 14, 2018, in Parkland, Florida, Grayson said she searched for a way to make a positive impact on gun safety. She said she discovered Be SMART at a community event in Columbus later that year.

“I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, there’s something I can do,’” Grayson said during a May 16 presentation at the Bexley City Schools’ Cassingham Theater.

Rather than advocate for a particular political stance, the goal of Be SMART is to facilitate dialogue about how to keep children safe from gun incidents, Grayson said.

“What Be SMART does is bring gun owners and non-gun owners together to talk,” she said.

During the Cassingham presentation, Grayson and Bexley Police Detective Darren Briley offered tips on how parents who own guns can keep them out of the reach of children. They also offered information on how parents who don’t own guns can ensure that their children don’t encounter guns in the homes of friends, family and neighbors.

“It’s not pushing an agenda either way,” Briley said of the presentation. “It’s talking about gun safety and how we can bring up conversations with people to keep our kids safe.”

The information session happened just two days after a mass shooting May 14 in Buffalo, New York, in which suspect Payton S. Gendron allegedly opened fire in the Tops Friendly Markets grocery Store, killing 10 and wounding three.

Grayson presented statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicating more than 1,600 children under the age of 18 are killed by firearms each year.

“The CDC now states that firearms kill more children than car crashes,” Grayson said.

“Not only that,” Briley added, “but it’s the leading cause of death for children at this point.”

While the enormity of the national statistics may be difficult to grasp, the trends have affected central Ohio, Grayson and Briley said.

“Kids who grow up here, they’re not always immune to it,” Briley said.

Briley and Grayson cited several recent incidents around central Ohio in which minors brought guns to school, such as an April 14 incident in which a 14-year-old student at Starling Middle School in south Columbus was arrested after allegedly bringing a loaded semi-automatic pistol to school. Also on May 12, police responded when a New Albany Primary School student allegedly carried a loaded gun in a backpack onto the school bus.

Students bring guns to school for a variety of reasons, from trying to protect themselves from bullies to mere curiosity, Grayson said. In order to keep guns out of the hands of children, parents who own firearms must go beyond hiding the weapons or placing them in hard-to-reach places, she said.

“In one study, the majority of kids in gun-owning homes know where the guns are. It’s just like Christmas presents, Hanukkah presents – kids are curious and know where these are even if we don’t think they do,” she said. “Hiding a gun is not securing a gun.”

Suggestions that Grayson and Briley offered to keep firearms away from children include securing guns in safes and locking them with free locks provided by the Bexley Police Department. Grayson also recommended that parents discuss gun safety with other parents when their children visit each other’s homes.

“We want to talk about it … so that our kids don’t have access to guns,” she said.

Shelby and Kristi Payne, residents of Columbus’ West Side, were among about 10 people in attendance. The Paynes said they heard about the event through word of mouth and, even though they don’t have children, found the information useful.

Among the things the Paynes said they learned during the presentation is that Ohio Senate Bill 215 will go into effect in June. The law eliminates the requirement for individuals with concealed-carry permits to take a firearms training course.

“We don’t judge people who have guns, but the fact that anyone can walk around with one is quite scary to me,” Kristi Payne said. “The responsible gun owners that I know all took a class.”

“I have my conceal permit, and I think that should at least be a minimum, so that you have to go through that (training course),” Shelby Payne said. “At least it’s on record, so that if the police pull you over, ‘OK, this guy could have a gun.’ It helps for things to maybe go a little more smoothly.”

For more information about the gun safety tips presented during the event, visit besmartforkids.org.

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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Bexley presentation focuses on keeping children safe from gun violence