Make sure that gun safety is discussed and is a part of your family’s safety conversation. While many families are already having these discussions, it’s important to consider how these conversations need to change as your family evolves and grows. Having regular conversations about gun safety with those close to you reduces the chance of family fire incidents. Gun owners play a key role in ending family fire by educating friends, family, and members of their community about responsible gun ownership.

Read about how gun owners are opening up the conversation in their communities to make firearm safety a priority.

Even if your kids have been exposed to firearms from a young age through family traditions, such as hunting or sports shooting, it is still important to teach them that guns are to be taken very seriously. But while it is important to have these conversations with kids about gun safety, telling your children not to touch firearms is not enough to prevent them from handling guns. This is why it is essential to always practice safe gun storage. Parents who don’t personally own firearms should still have conversations with their children about what to do if they come across a gun in the home of a friend or family member.

Teenagers are often impulsive, and easy access to firearms can be dangerous during this period of transition from adolescence into adulthood, which is why it is essential to safely store all firearms in the home. Parents can open up opportunities for having difficult conversations by asking questions like, “Have any of your friends ever talked about playing with a gun?”

The Alzheimer's Association has resources — such as their Home Safety Checklist and a Firearm Safety One-Pager — that offer helpful suggestions for anyone preparing to have a conversation about firearm storage options with aging family members.

The End Family Fire campaign is a part of the Brady Center's C(3) efforts.