Cherry Creek schools o ers free gun locks

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

As conversations about gun violence came to the forefront Friday in Colorado, Cherry Creek Schools Superintendent Christopher Smith sent an email saying gun locks are available for families to pick up at the schools. No questions asked.

Gun locks are devices that prevent a weapon from discharging. Smith said the Arapahoe County Sheri ’s O ce has provided gun locks for Cherry Creek Schools to hand out, free of charge, to families.

e gun locks are available in baskets in the entryways of schools, and there are also pamphlets that explain how to use the locks, he said.

“Every year, we lose students and sta in the Cherry Creek School District to gun violence, including suicide by rearm,” Smith wrote. “Suicides are on the rise across the country, according to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) data.

“In CCSD, suicide threat assessments are also increasing. Firearms are now the leading cause of death for children in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” he added.

According to the CDC, in 2020, suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 2534. Suicides account for about 54% of all rearm deaths, and roughly 53% of all suicides involve a rearm, according to a 2022 article published by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Smith noted in his letter that the state law “Safe Storage of Firearms,” passed in 2021, requires rearms be responsibly and securely stored when they are not in use in order to prevent access by unsupervised juveniles and other unauthorized users.

“Responsible and safe gun storage in the home can save lives,” Smith wrote. “Any single step we can take to prevent suicide and save a life is a step worth taking.”

He said community members can nd more information on how to safely store guns online at projectchildsafe.org and bit.ly/safetoolkits.

Cherry Creek Schools also has a mental health webpage with resources regarding youth suicide prevention, available at: bit.ly/ cchealth23.

Smith’s letter was sent the same day as hundreds of East High School students marched to the Colorado Capitol to demand that state lawmakers take action to prevent more gun violence, as reported by e Colorado Sun.

East High School student Luis Garcia, 16, died March 1 after spending weeks in the hospital following being

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