Brady encourages adults to ask about firearms in homes children visit
By Carol Conyne Rescigno
From the July-September 2025 issue of Critical Times. Print versions are available for free at WSLR+Fogartyville and other community gathering spaces in Sarasota and Manatee counties.
Brady Sarasota and other gun violence prevention activists kept their eyes on the Florida Legislature this season and, fortunately, most of the concerning bills did not pass.
One would have allowed the open carry of guns in Florida; another would have lowered the minimum age to purchase a rifle or shotgun from 21 to 18; and a third would have allowed guns on college campuses.
There were 23 school shootings in the U.S. as of May 13. 15 were on college campuses and eight were on K-12 school grounds. One, at Florida State University on April 17, ended with two people dead and six others wounded. Imagine how many there might have been if the campus carry bill had passed.
Brady reminds parents, grandparents and other caretakers about the importance of safely storing their guns and urging family and friends to do the same.
The gun death rate among children ages 1-17 increased by 106 percent from 2013 to 2022, according to recent research by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with firearms becoming the leading cause of death for American youths.
ASK Day took place on June 21, the beginning of summer. Brady, whose team includes gun owners and non-gun owners, developed the ASK program several years ago, encouraging adults to ask about firearms in the homes their children visit, just as they would ask about other child safety issues: “Is there an unlocked gun where my child plays?” It’s a simple question that has the power to save a life.
Another important safe-storage program is EFF, or End Family Fire. Whether you have a young child in your home, a distraught teenager, a depressed veteran or other senior, or anyone who picks up a gun, they can be at risk. Intentional shootings get most of the attention, but unintentional shootings by a child or by someone cleaning a gun, happen all the time. In addition, a gun used to commit suicide is generally successful; suicide attempts by other means often are not. So, if there’s a gun in your home, lock it up and lock up your ammunition separately! Tell others to do the same.
Unfortunately, many laws and programs that had been instituted on the federal level to curb gun violence have been rolled back under the new administration, including programs that had been funded to work with at-risk young people or to research gun use. It remains to be seen how many people will be affected by these decisions. In the meantime, personal responsibility may continue to be among the best ways to prevent shootings.
Carol Conyne Rescigno is the president of Brady Sarasota.
Gun Safety & Family Fire Statistics
- 1 in 3 children live in a home with at least one firearm
- 4.6 million children in the U.S. live in a home with access to a loaded, unlocked firearm
- Every day, 8 children are unintentionally injured or killed by family fire
- 76 percent of school shooters under the age of 18 used a gun from the home of a parent or close relative
- 89 percent of unintentional shootings involving kids happen at home
- Locking all firearms in the home could reduce youth firearm suicides and unintentional deaths by up to 32 percent.
Source: Brady