Be SMART: Community leaders urge gun owners to focus on safety

Mike Wolanin | The Republic Signs are posted outside the Cal Brand Meeting Room for the Be Smart gun safety campaign at Columbus City Hall in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022.

Bartholomew County Commissioner Tony London describes himself as a survivor not of gun violence, but of “gun irresponsibility.”

His father, who was a gun owner and collector, kept a loaded .38-caliber in the house at all times. When London’s parents were away, he would take it out and carry it around like a police officer.

“My brother’s very lucky to be alive,” he said.

London was among community leaders who appeared at a launch event for the Be SMART Bartholomew County initiative at Columbus City Hall on Thursday at noon. Be SMART volunteers and representatives from local government, Columbus Regional Hospital, law enforcement agencies and schools attended the event to speak about gun safety and how to prevent unintentional shootings by children.

Be SMART is a public education campaign from Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety. The campaign asks that everyone come together to reduce the number of unintentional shootings, suicides and homicides that occur when firearms are not stored responsibly.

SMART stands for:

  • Secure all guns in your home and vehicles;
  • Model responsible behavior around guns;
  • Ask about the presence of unsecured guns in other homes;
  • Recognize the risks of teen suicide; and
  • Tell your peers to be SMART.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office distributed free gun locks at the event. Sheriff Matt Myers said that the agency will donate $5,000 to the Be SMART program and expressed hope that another organization or individual would step forward to match the gift. Bartholomew County Commissioner Tony London said that he would speak to his fellow commissioners about doing so.

London also said that he would distribute locks and informational literature at his business.

Columbus Police Department will work to provide locks as well, said CPD spokesman Lt. Matt Harris.

“I certainly hope we’re not preaching to the choir,” said London. “I certainly hope that someone will get this message and they will realize that they’re taking an awfully, awfully large chance by leaving a loaded gun accessible.”

As a gun owner himself, he uses a biometric safe to store his firearm.

Myers, who had similar experiences to London as a child, said that while some gun owners argue that gun locks will keep them from accessing their weapon and loading it quickly in the event of an emergency, this is not accurate. He then demonstrated this by removing a cable lock — the same kind available to attendees — from a gun and loading it in front of the audience, all in about five to 10 seconds.

He also expressed concern about a lack of training and experience among new, young gun owners and stressed the importance of taking safety classes, knowing gun laws and storing weapons securely.

“You can have a gun,” he said. “The Second Amendment says you can have it at 18. But you’re responsible for that gun. So when you leave that in a car and somebody steals it, they take it out and use it in a crime, and somebody else dies, that’s your gun. You’re responsible for it.”

Myers added that if someone cannot travel to the sheriff’s department to get a gun lock, officers can deliver it to their home, and people with multiple guns should also ask for as many locks as they need.

“Guns should always be stored securely, inaccessible to kids,” said Julie Wagner with Moms Demand Action and Be SMART. “Remember, hiding is a gun is not securing a gun. Kids are smart. They’re curious. They pay attention. They know where the gun is.”

She said that keeping firearms unloaded, locked up and separate from ammunition are all good steps, and taking all three actions is the “gold standard.” Additionally, parents may need to re-evaluate and consider upgrading their security measures as their kids get older, said Trisha Dane with Be SMART.

Dane also stated that while educating children about gun safety is important, it is not a guarantee that they will behave accordingly.

“One study found that young children who go through a week-long safety training are just as likely as kids with no training to approach or play with a handgun when they find one,” she said.

Furthermore, it’s important for parents to ask about the possibility of unsecured weapons when their kids are going over to another family’s house, said Wagner.

“It might not be your gun, but it might be your kid,” she said.

During a time for open discussion, NRA certified instructor Kathy Smith, who also leads the Atterbury chapter of Armed Women of America, said that while such groups often disagree with Moms Demand Action, they agree on the importance of gun safety.

“We are 100% behind keeping guns out of the hands of children or people with mental illness,” said Smith.

A study published in the Journal of Urban Health in 2018 estimated that 4.6 million children live in homes with at least one unsecured firearm. In an average year, more than 350 Americans are injured or killed in an unintentional shooting by a child who gained access to an unsecured gun.

According to Columbus Regional Health’s 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment, “A total of 51.6% of CRH Service Area adults have a firearm kept in or around the home (including 48.9% among households with children); of these residents, 22.9% report that the gun is kept loaded and unlocked.”

CRH’s service area includes Bartholomew County and ZIP Codes 47265 in Jennings County and 47274 in Jackson County. In Bartholomew County, about 46% of adults have a firearm kept in or around the home, including 43% among households with children.

The county’s firearms-related death rate is 10.6 per 100,000 people, compared to 13.5 for CRH’s service area and 14.7 for the state of Indiana. The national rate is 11.9.

Bartholomew County has recently been the site of multiple gun violence incidents, including one that resulted in the death of a teenager, with charges filed against a fellow teen.

“Sadly, the events of the last few weeks really underscore why gun safety is important,” said Wagner.

On Nov. 26, Hauser High School senior Jesse W. Bragg, 18, died of a gunshot wound to the chest. The Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s office has filed a formal charge of reckless homicide against Joseph T. Kidwell, also 18, in regards to Bragg’s death.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Hope Police Department officers said that there were open alcoholic beverages present at the Hope residence where the shooting occurred, along with a green leafy substance with an odor commonly associated with marijuana.

Kidwell told Detective Dane Duke with the sheriff’s office that he had fired a shot at Bragg’s chest, but he thought he had an Airsoft pistol in his hand when he did so. Duke said in a previous interview that the two teens are described as friends.

Two semi-automatic handguns, an IWI Desert .40-caliber and a Taurus PT111 .9mm, along with an Airsoft pistol, were located and seized at the scene. The expended .40-caliber projectile and casing were also recovered.

Witnesses at the scene told investigators Kidwell grabbed the pistol, racking the slide and pointed the pistol at Bragg, who was seated on the couch across from him, pulling the trigger one time, causing the pistol to fire.