A group of Longmont parents has aligned itself with the national organization Be SMART. After concern about gun violence began to rise, these parents are looking for ways to make a change.
Be SMART was launched in 2015 to promote responsible gun ownership. The organization uses the acronym SMART to share its message. SMART stands for secure, model, ask, recognize and tell.
This simple framework is meant to begin conversations between parents, caretakers and community leaders on ways of keeping firearms out of the hands of children, according to the website.
Amanda Ranard, Boulder County group lead of Be SMART, is one of 12 people in the local chapter. The group came together after looking for ways to keep children safe as gun violence grows, she said.
“The Be SMART program felt like a natural fit to help share the message of safe storage,” she said. “The program also focuses on normalizing the conversation around the safe storage of firearms.”
Ranard said the thing that sets Be SMART apart from other gun safety advocacy groups is the ask and recognize portions of the acronym.
One of the concerns parents may have is letting their children visit their friends' homes and not knowing if there is a firearm in the house. Be SMART advocates for parents to normalize asking other parents about firearms in their homes and how they are stored.
“It is a hard thing to ask about,” Ranard said. “Even for families that don’t have guns, I think the message is important for knowing about ways they can proactively help protect their kids.”
The “R” stands for recognize, specifically recognizing the role guns play in suicide. According to the CDC 54% of gun-related deaths in the U.S. were suicides.
Be SMART in Boulder County is working with local school districts in hopes that they will be able to host conversation meetings for the public in the near future.
