Every year, 19,000 children and teens are killed or wounded due to gun violence, and approximately 3 million are exposed to gun violence. In many cases, these guns were found within the home, meaning the deaths were highly preventable.
Even if a child survives being shot, the mental scarring stays with them for years, possibly even life. In America, 4.6 million children live in a house that has a gun that is loaded and unlocked. How do we keep them safe?
Today we sit down with Kayla Austin, a rising junior at Howard University, gun violence activist from the Chicago area, and creator of My Guns Been Moved, a gun safety device that provides a way for gun owners to monitor their weapons 24/7.
Kayla and host Frank Tramble discuss how she came up with this device, preventing in home and accidental shootings, growing up hearing about gun violence, and the support she’s recieved from the Howard community and beyond.
HU2U is a production of Howard University and is produced by University FM.
Episode Quotes:
What does success look like for My Guns Been Moved?
[13:12] Success for My Guns Been Move looks like every American that has a firearm having our device in the home; that is the ultimate goal. As I mentioned, adding to this national conversation of what gun safety looks like, the goal is to partner with parent-teacher organizations and other organizations who are doing gun violence prevention work.
On the rising number of gun violence
[04:19] When I started my research, gun violence was a leading cause of death for black children and teens. And now it's a leading cause of death for children everywhere around the country.
Safeguarding lives through open conversations about gun safety
[15:47] The message I would send to parent firearm owners is to store your weapons safely and also start having those conversations with your children about what gun safety looks like. I think parents always want to be role model, so I think it's important to be a role model when it comes to safely storing your firearms, like showing your child what it looks like to be a responsible gun owner. It's extremely important having conversations about what a gun is, what the intention for it is, and how you store it safely. I think that those types of conversations are really important to have with your children.
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