National Safe Day—a holiday observed annually on June 4th—is a day that encourages people to properly store their firearms in a gun safe where children and unauthorized individuals cannot access them. In 2009 alone, there were 39,707 deaths due to firearms in the U.S. Between 2000 and 2005, a child died accidentally from a gun every three days, and the numbers have been rising ever since. All the more reason why people should observe this holiday and help spread the word about the importance of gun safety, regardless of whether they own a gun or not.

The History of National Safe Day

This holiday was first observed in 2016 after the death of Brooklynn Mae Mohler by the Brooklyn Mae Mohler Foundation, or BMMF. Brooklyn Mohler was at her friend’s residence when her friend found a gun that had been kept in the kitchen cabinet. The firearm discharged while she was playing with it, fatally shooting Brooklyn. This holiday was started not only to honor Brooklyn but also to help prevent future children from such accidents.

Keeping Your Firearms Safe

It’s relatively easy for people to keep their firearms away from their children; all it takes is assembling some basic equipment and then using that equipment consistently. The acronym SAFE tells a gun owner just how to keep their children safe from firearms. Let’s take a look at what each letter means.

• Secure all the guns in your home.
• Ask yourself if there are any firearms that the child might be able to reach.
• Frequently talk to children and other members of the household about the dangers of firearms.
• Educate and empower everyone in the household to be safe.

Facts About Youth Gun Violence

To help emphasize the importance of all of us coming together to solve the problem of gun deaths among our children, we’ve assembled some facts that we think will be quite educational.

• Firearm violence is the third leading cause of death among children 0-17 years of age in the United States.
• Firearm violence is the second leading cause of injury among children in the 0-17 year age bracket.
• In 2016, approximately 30% of all U.S. households contained a firearm, but only about 46% properly secured them.
• Even though firearms were involved in 74% of all homicides in the U.S. in 2016, they were responsible for 87% of all youth homicides.
• A 2019 study found that gun injuries were the leading cause of death among high school students in the U.S.

Observing National Safe Day

First and foremost, the best way to observe this holiday is by putting the acronym SAFE into action and making sure that your home is gun-safe. Once that’s been done, you can then help spread the word about gun safety—first among friends and family and then on the Internet using the hashtag #NationalSafeDay. If we all work together, we can make all of our homes safer.