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The School Letter Campaign for Secure Gun Storage

Schools often send notifications home to parents and guardians about safety risks — this should include the safety risks of unsecured firearms.

We know the majority of gun owners aren’t careless; they simply want to protect their loved ones. That’s why awareness about the risks of unsecured firearms and the need for secure storage is so important. 

By encouraging school leaders to engage parents and guardians in conversations about firearm safety, we can help prevent unintentional shootings, firearm suicide, and school shootings. 

Campaign Partners

Brady is proud to partner with the National Association of School Nurses, Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the School Superintendents Association, Scrubs Addressing the Firearm Epidemic (SAFE), Giffords Gun Owners, Newtown Action Alliance, and March For Our Lives on our School Letter Campaign for Secure Gun Storage.

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6.7 million kids in the U.S. live in homes with unlocked and loaded guns, putting children, families, and entire communities at risk. 

  • 8

    Eight kids a day are unintentionally injured or killed by family fire

  • 76%

    76% of school shooters get their gun from home or the home of a close relative

  • 300%

    Access to a firearm increases the risk of suicide by 300%

How Can I Help Promote Secure Gun Storage in My Community?

Promote Awareness About the Risks of Unsecured Firearms and the Importance of Secure Gun Storage by Taking the Below Steps.

Writing to your local school principal to ask the school to send a letter home to parents and guardians is an easy first step. And we’ve made it even easier.

How-To Steps

  1. Customize our template letter to your local school principal with the request.
  2. Include our template letter to parents that the principal can edit as needed.
  3. Find the contact information for the school principal. This information is typically available online, but may also be available from your local government.
  4. Send your letter!

Now that your principal is onboard, use your success to help get principals of nearby schools to do the same.

  • Customize our template letter to neighboring school principals and include a note about your recent success.
  • Include the letter that was distributed by your area school
  • Consider including our template letter to parents that principals can edit as needed
  • Find the contact information for the school principals. This information is typically available online, but may also be available from your local government.
  • Send your letters!

Once you have a couple of schools on board, you are ready to take your campaign to the school board and request that they pass a school board resolution requiring all schools in the district to send secure storage notifications to families of students.

  • Research your local school board/board of education to find out if there is a pre-determined process for resolutions or public requests.
  • If you are unable to find this information, look up contact information for your school board members or find information on the next school board meeting and attend.
  • Customize our template letter or talking points to aid in making your request

Provide our template resolution that your school board can customize.

  1. Template Letters, Talking Points, and School Board Resolution Download

Interested in taking action, but need support? We're here to help!

Add your information here to be connected with our team and join fellow advocates interested in promoting awareness on the importance of secure firearm storage. 

We'd also love to hear about your success! 

We want to know more about the work you are doing. If you’ve been successful in getting information about secure storage distributed in your area, please tell us about it here. 

  • What if the principal or school leadership is resistant? 

    One great way to get your principal to say yes is through building community support through school events and parent nights. 

    You can also partner with local nonprofits, which work across law enforcement, public health,  education, and gun safety to garner their support for this campaign.

  • What if my state or district already has a secure storage notification policy?

    We still need your help! Consider contacting schools in your district to confirm that they are sending secure storage letters out to their school community. 

    You can also talk to private schools in your area and ask their principal(s) to send home letters about secure storage.