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Why Black Parents Need to Talk to Their Kids About Guns

When TeKesia Shields founded Mother's Against Gang Violence in 2016, it was a group for parents to learn how to recognize signs that their child might be involved in gang activity. The organization was born out of Shields' desire to reflect on her own mistakes. In 2016, she found out her 17-year-old son was in a gang when he was arrested for robbery. A year later, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Wanting to prevent other mothers from finding themselves in a similar position, Shields continued to build MAGV as a grassroots organization alerting parents about how gangs recruit kids, while also going back to school for her criminal justice degree so she could effectively advocate for her incarcerated son. In the nearly a decade since MAGV's launch, the group has expanded to offering healing circles, burial service support, justice system navigation and compassion training through Emory University. They've served dozens of families in the metro Atlanta area. But gun safety training wasn't really on Shields' radar until someone from the Georgia Safe Child Initiative contacted her about hosting a firearm safety and storage fundamentals workshop for her organization. 'It's not something I know a lot about, so when they reached out, I thought they should come to family engagement [meetings],' she said. Each week, MAGV hosts sessions to discuss ways to prevent kids from getting caught up in gangs and provide support for parents who have lost a child to gun violence or incarceration. While gang members are frequently caught with stolen or untraceable ghost guns — firearms without serial numbers — for most kids and teens, the only guns they have access to are in their home. According to the Children's Safety Network, a lot of gun-owning parents falsely assume their kids don't know where or how to access their firearms. Unsecured and easily accessible firearms in the home can quickly become a tragedy when curious kids are unaware of the dangers they pose. Unintentional injury is a leading cause of death for Black children and teens in Georgia over the age of one. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most children are killed or injured with a gun that was already in their home. Last year in Georgia, there were 20 unintentional shootings by children, resulting in nine deaths. This year, three children in Georgia — all under 10 — have unintentionally shot and injured themselves or a sibling with a firearm. A report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions found that Black kids have a gun death rate 18 times higher than white kids of their same age group. Gun deaths include accidents, homicides, and suicides, but children are most likely to access that gun at home. Pew Research estimates a quarter of Black adults own a gun, and in Georgia — where nearly 50% of adults are gun owners — there are hundreds of thousands of Black gun owners across the state. 'Everyone knows how curious children are. They're gonna ask questions, they're going to touch things, they don't understand the dangers of firearms. So it's our duty as firearm owners to bring them up to speed and educate them on this topic,' said Justan Mosley, founder of Big Smoke Armament, and a certified firearms instructor. Mosley, and his mentor Rashid McCall, conducted firearm safety training and a storage fundamentals workshop Monday hosted by Mother's Against Gang Violence during the group's weekly family engagement session. Mosley and McCall encourage parents who own a gun to talk to their children about firearm safety as soon as they are able to understand, so they won't go looking for information from unreliable sources. They also stressed that the conversation should be ongoing to reinforce the rules and to answer any questions kids may have. 'In Georgia, there are no specific laws determining how you should store your firearm, but in the event that a child does obtain a firearm and commits a crime or a negligent event occurs, you will be held liable,' Mosley said. Mosely and McCall also advised parents to get connected with local gun clubs that host safety workshops and shooting practice. Both instructors are members of the Bass Reeves Gun Club, the Atlanta chapter of the National African American Gun Association, which was honored earlier this year by the state legislature for its firearm safety programming and distributing over 1,000 gun locks with Project ChildSafe. 'Training, training, training is the key to confidence, to properly securing our weapons systems, and is the key to ensuring the next generation understands this technology,' McCall said. Project ChildSafe also has educational materials and videos for parents and kids of all ages on firearm safety and the importance of safe gun storage. They also partner with police departments to offer free safety kits that include a cable lock and safety instructions; their local partners are Atlanta Police, East Point Police, Fulton County Sheriff's Office, Hapeville Police, and South Fulton Police. After the workshop, Shields told Capital B Atlanta that she hopes to host more safety training sessions and find a way to get their youth involved in additional firearm safety programs. Set an example by always handling and storing firearms safely in front of your kids Always point the muzzle in a 'safe direction' meaning if it accidentally goes off no one will be hurt Keep your finger off the trigger until you intend to shoot Unload, clean and store firearms immediately after returning home Store firearms in a safe or lock box that is not easily accessible Keep the firearms in a locked room for an additional layer of protection The key to the safe shouldn't be hanging up in the kitchen The code shouldn't be your child's birthdate Keep ammunition locked and stored separately from firearms If your child gains access to the gun, they won't be able to fire it Use an external lock or a cable lock to prevent the gun from being fired when it's not in use Under federal law, a gun purchased from a licensed seller must come with a cable lock; however, this does not apply to guns purchased from a gun show or a private seller. Have age-appropriate conversations with your kids about firearms Younger Kids When you see a gun, stop and don't touch it Leave the area and go tell an adult Teens Don't touch a gun without an adult present Always assume a gun is loaded and can fire Never point a gun at another person The post Why Black Parents Need to Talk to Their Kids About Guns appeared first on Capital B News - Atlanta.