Mayor declares Saturday ‘Gun Safety Awareness Day’

Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin has signed a proclamation to declare Saturday as “Gun Safety Awareness Day,” and what she described as a non-political educational message is expected to be read this morning at KidsFest downtown.

The group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America approached Tergin and asked her if she would do the proclamation, which Jefferson City Council member Ken Hussey planned to read today at 11 a.m. because Tergin is out of town for a work commitment.

“I wouldn’t have done the proclamation if I didn’t believe in it,” Tergin said. “When (Moms Demand Action) approached me to ask me to do the proclamation, it was very clear that it is not a politically motivated group. We are a non-partisan city government, so that was important.”

Moms Demand Action described itself in a news release as a “non-partisan, grassroots organization of over three million moms, dads, grandparents, teachers, students, doctors, clergy, gun owners and non-gun owners who support the Second Amendment while working to reduce preventable gun violence in communities across America.”

June 1 was the fourth annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day, but Tergin said the focus of her proclamation for June 2’s local identity is more about families knowing how to secure firearms around their homes and vehicles so children cannot be accidentally injured or killed by those firearms.

“We should not focus on violence, but rather focus on safety,” Tergin said of local priorities.

“Unintentional shootings are easily preventable and there are clear solutions to help stop these tragedies before they happen,” according to the Moms Demand Action news release. “Responsible gun owners know that supporting the Second Amendment goes hand in hand with common-sense public safety measures to make our communities safer and save lives.”

Tergin said, “Gun safety is not a political issue. We’re talking about a safety message mostly geared towards children and families.”

Working with local law enforcement was the other key part of the proclamation.

The Cole County Sheriff’s Department donated gun safety locks that will be distributed for free to the public at the KidsFest tent of Mom’s Demand Action, according to the news release.

The proclamation itself states, “Promoting public safety in our community is one of Jefferson City’s public officials’ highest responsibilities,” that the city “supports responsible gun ownership and stands with Americans across the country,” and that “through partnership and collaboration between the community and local agencies we can strive to increase public awareness on gun safety issues, and focus on ways to reduce crime and improve quality of life.”

Other components of Moms Demand Action’s gun safety education campaign include parents and caretakers modeling “responsible behavior around guns,” asking about whether there are unsecured firearms in other homes that their children visit and recognizing the risks of teen suicide.