I support HB498

I am with Virginia moms for change and support this bill. It’s common sense.

I strongly support this bill for common sense, non invasive law to keep parents informed about safe storage. Knowing how many gun deaths in children are accidental, we need to take even this small step toward prevention.

I am a member of Virginia Moms for Change - a gun violence prevention organization. I support HB498 and oppose: HB222 & HB676. Please do something to prevent innocent children from dying just so people think they have the right to hunt at a moments notice.

I support required parent education on safe firearm storage. This can save lives.

As a parent, I strongly support this bill.

I strongly support this bill as a parent of an elementary student. Safe storage is an essential component of responsible gun ownership, and ensuring that children do not have access to firearms is paramount to their safety and the safety of our communities. We saw the detrimental impact of lax gun storage in Newport News last year when a teacher was shot by her student. This bill will help reduce both accidental and intentional misuse of firearms by children.

Virginia Moms for Change strongly supports safe storage legislation. Educating parents on safe storage through the school system is an excellent idea.

As a pediatrician and mother of two kids, providing education and increasing awareness of the importance of secure storage of firearms and ammunition just makes sense. It is a simple, evidence-based action to keep firearms away from children who are curious, and from adolescents who may be suicidal. Households that locked both firearms and ammunition were associated with 78 percent lower risk of self-inflicted firearm injuries and 85 percent lower risk of unintentional firearm injuries among children and teens. (Grossman DC, Mueller BA, Riedy C, et al. Gun Storage Practices and Risk of Youth Suicide and Unintentional Firearm Injuries. JAMA. 2005;293(6):707–714. doi:10.1001/jama.293.6.707) Please take this common-sense, educational action to protect kids from unintentional firearm injury, firearm suicide, and other gun violence.

Please vote to pass HB 686 Meals for All. The children in Virginia need your help. Every child should be able to get a hot meal and not have to worry about being hungry. Parents are struggling and children are suffering. Please vote for free meals for children.

Firearms are the leading cause of death among children in the United States. Approximately 4.6 million children live in a household with at least one gun stored loaded and unlocked. Up to 80% of school shooters under the age of 18 obtained their firearm from their home or the home of a relative or a friend. According to the US Secret Service, addressing student access to guns is a critical component of any school-based threat assessment intervention plan. In addition, over 3,000 young people die by firearm suicide each year. Most of these firearms were also obtained in their home or the home of a friend or relative. 90% of firearm suicide attempts end in death. Removing access is a critical way to mitigate risk. In addition, there are unintentional shootings regularly by children accessing an unsecure firearm injuring or killing themselves or others nearby. We want all children to be safe at school AND at home. Educating families about the dangers of unsecured firearms will save lives. Our schools educate about the dangers of drug use, unprotected intercourse, driving, and more. We can certainly make sure families are educated about steps to take to help prevent the leading cause of death for youth in America. I fully support this bill and wholeheartedly believe it will make a valuable difference.

Vote in favor of: HB1039, HB732, HB686, HB603, HB498, HB497, HB482, HB386, HB253, HB224, HB215, HB134, and HB41. I would recommend including additional language in HB41 that addresses voter registrations in public schools. Being an active voter is part of our civic duty and participation in our democratic process should be taught and encouraged. Voter registration drives should be occurring in all public high schools in the Commonwealth.

Educating our families in the Commonwealth about how to keep their guns secure in their homes, so that minor children do not gain access to a firearm and hurt themselves or others, is a powerful yet easy way to keep our families safe. Almost 1 child a day in our country unintentionally shoots themselves or another person. This number can be drastically lowered by following secure storage guidelines. I strongly support this bill and urge passage.

I am writing in full support of this bill. School boards should provide this information to parents; if any school aged children are in the house with firearms, those firearms need to be safely secured for the safety of all. Thank you for bringing this to the floor and supporting the safety of all students at home and at school.

I support this bill and think parents who own guns and who have school aged children, should be required to properly secure their weapons. I think having the school board remind parents of this obligation is appropriate.

I fully support this bill. The vast majority of school shootings are committed using an unsecured firearm from a student’s home or the home of a relative or friend. Secure storage saves lives and keeps firearms out of the hands of children and others who shouldn’t have access to them. This bill will help spread lifesaving awareness of the importance of secure storage and is an easy lift for school boards. Vote yes!

seconding what my family and friends have said and taught me as we examine these bills together- 134- YES 214- YES 224- YES 253- YES 386- YES 398- YES 497- YES 498- YES 603- YES 686- YES 732- YES

134- YES to fentanyl training to save lives and decrease stigma. It is overdue 214- YES 224- YES 253- YES civic engagement encouraged 386- YES 398- YES incredible practice to prevent punishment and foster healthy development 497- YES 498- YES 603- YES 686- YES 732- YES Nalaxone critical and life saving

134- YES to fentanyl training to save lives and decrease stigma 214- YES increase safety and change culture 224- YES to save lives with training 253- YES students' voices are critical and will teach power of speaking up for themselves 386- YES 398- YES restorative justice changes lives and prevents school to prison pipeline. Lynchburg has found restorative practices to be so impactful that a federal grant was just awarded almost 1M to continue 497- YES SAVE LIVES 498 YES save lives 603 YES save lives reduce stigma 686 YES 732 YES save lives

I'm a volunteer with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and I support this bill.