Home Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office Partners with ASK and Brady Center for Gun Safety Campaign

District Attorney’s Office Partners with ASK and Brady Center for Gun Safety Campaign

by ECT

Martinez, Calif. – The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office is committed to preventing gun violence in our communities and educating youth about the dangers and consequences of gun possession. This month, the District Attorney’s Office is collaborating with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and the American Academy of Pediatrics in the ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Gun Safety Campaign to educate parents and children about gun safety.

 

Nationwide, approximately 1.7 million youth live in a home with an unlocked, loaded gun. More than one in five U.S. teenagers (ages 14 to 17) report having witnessed a shooting, and an average of seven children and teens under the age of 20 are killed by guns every day. The ASK campaign is a nationwide effort which includes numerous leading national organizations, including education, healthcare, and law enforcement groups who are dedicated to stopping gun violence in America.

 

“We must address the growing trends of gun violence, not only in our schools but on our streets and in our homes. Common sense gun safety laws do work along with educating parents and guardians on how they can best protect their children at home. My office will continue to partner with law enforcement, our schools, and our community to ensure we are doing all we can to keep our kids safe and to prevent further gun violence,” stated District Attorney Diana Becton.

 

In honor of the annual summer “ASK Day” kickoff this week, representatives from the District Attorney’s Office will host tables at the Farmers’ Markets in Pittsburg and Martinez on Saturday, June 23rd and Sunday, June 24th to provide the community with information about the risks associated with unsafely stored guns in their homes.

 

In partnership with the Contra Costa County Probation Department, the District Attorney’s Office will continue to teach the Gun Information for Teens (“GIFT”) Program to youth throughout the county. In 2012, the GIFT Program started as an initial pilot to educate youth about gun violence and prevention, which focused on the intersection between gangs, guns, drugs and youth in our county. The GIFT Program expanded in 2015 remains an important tool for our office to empower students to protect themselves and their communities from gun violence. Representatives from the District Attorney’s Office and Probation Department currently teach this 6-course anti-violence curriculum to approximately 1,000 students each year.

 

All school district administrators are encouraged to join this collaborative effort to keep our schools and neighborhoods safe; to schedule the GIFT Program at your school, please contact Deputy District Laura Delehunt at [email protected]. Courses will be tailored to address the specific needs at your school site and will provide students with valuable skills to make positive choices.

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1 comment

Blah blah blah Jun 21, 2018 - 6:21 am

How about Proactive and responsible parenting? Theres a concept. There are a ton of people that have no business having kids. They pump out 3-4 kids knowing that there is no baby daddy on paper, so the State will help out financially every month. These are the same people that dont work, but cant get their kids to school on time. They keep there kids in after school programs as a way to keep them out of the house longer. Then they show up to pick their kids up and they are still wearing pajamas. To these people having kids is almost a burdon, but they know good ole California will be sending them a check on the first of the month. If you really want to curb gun violence, then start sentencing criminals properly across the board. Criminals in this County know they can get away with more crap then other Counties and with this new DA, it will only get worse. The DAs quote above is comical, Im willing to bet those arent even her words. Talk is cheap, its easy to send out a little message on the internet, but to actually combat issues takes work, and this DA doesnt like to work.

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