Oak Park resident Jenna Leving Jacobson spoke at the District 200 Board meeting on Sept. 21 representing Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, an organization dedicated to preventing gun violence in the United States. Her goal was to get information on safe firearm storage sent to district parents as part of required memos at the beginning of the school year.
Her message to the board focused on preventing suicides by gun. “Promoting public awareness about secure firearm storage resources from trusted messengers are part of a comprehensive policy solution to firearm suicide prevention in particular and gun violence more generally,” said Leving Jacobson. “If we can prevent even one death or firearm injury, it is our responsibility to do so.”
According to the National Youth Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20% of high school students seriously considered attempting suicide in the last year. However, most people who attempt suicide survive unless they use a gun. “The difference between whether a kid survives a difficult time may be determined simply by whether or not they have access to a firearm,” said Leving Jacobson.
This is not the first time Leving Jacobson has contacted the board on this issue. “I’ve been asking the D200 school board and Superintendent [Greg] Johnson for two years now to pass a policy that would require the district to notify parents and families about the importance of secure firearm storage,” she said in an interview. “I’ve had personal conversations with a couple members, including Dr. Johnson, and a lot of email back and forth as well.”
Johnson said he has been in contact with both Moms Demand Action and the Village of Oak Park on this topic. “I think that the question is, what is the purview of a school district versus the village,” Johnson said, adding that certain ideas such as requiring families to sign off on safely storing firearms may not be possible at a district level. “I don’t know that as a public school district we have the right to put something like that in our requirement to enroll.”
However, information can still be sent out in other ways. The district is planning to hand out informational pamphlets created by the village of Oak Park to families at an appropriate event, possibly as soon as later this school year. “What Moms Demand Action are advocating for is exactly right,” said Johnson. “It’s only a question of what is the role of a school district with specific courses of action.”
Some students at OPRF are also getting involved. Senior Manolo Avalos has been in touch with the local chapter of Moms Demand Action since May. He worked with Leving Jacobson, helping write the public comment for the board meeting. “We are trying to get schools to adopt safe storage notifications,” said Avalos. He is also currently working on starting a group for students concerned about gun violence.
Moms Demand Action is a grassroots campaign supporting measures for gun control and firearm safety. Founded after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, the group now has volunteer chapters in all 50 states. It is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the nation’s largest anti-gun violence organization, with almost 10 million supporters.
