The Asking Saves Kids (ASK) Campaign kicks off every year on this day, June 21.

June 21 is the first day of summer, when kids are home from school and visiting one another. The ASK Campaign, which has partnered with over 400 grassroots organizations for over 20 years, urges parents to ask before sending a child to another’s home to play, “Is there an un unlocked gun in the home and is it stored safely?” Safe storage means the gun is in a locked location and unloaded, with the ammunition locked up separately.

The Corporation of Shepherdstown has proclaimed June 21, 2024 to be ASK Day. The leadership shown by Shepherdstown’s mayor, town council and police department in promoting gun safety is commendable.

The ASK Campaign was founded by the Brady organization in partnership with filmmaker and activist Talmage Cooley. It was launched in 2000 on Mother’s Day at the Million Mom March. As a successful collaboration between Brady and the American Academy of Pediatrics, it has inspired 19 million households to ask if there are guns where their children play.

The purpose of the ASK Campaign is to educate parents and others about the significant risk of kids having access to guns in the home. What exactly is that risk? According to research published in The New England Journal of Medicine, guns are now the leading cause of death among kids in the United States. What’s more, 4.6 million kids live in a home with a loaded, unlocked gun, according to JAMA Network (Journal of the American Medical Association), citing the National Firearms Survey. And, while many parents believe their gun is well-hidden, research on in AAP News (American Academy of Pediatrics) shows that at least one-third of them are mistaken.

All of us, gun owners and non-gun owners alike, have a significant role to play in preventing shootings caused by someone having access to a gun when they shouldn’t have it. More information about the ASK Campaign can be found, by visiting https://www.bradyunited.org/programs/end-family-fire/ask-to-end-family-fire.

Lee Doty, of Shepherdstown