Interest in the local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America increased significantly in the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Moms Demand Action broadened what was originally scheduled as its Durango monthly chapter meeting by encouraging residents interested in the group’s mission of responsible gun ownership to join it to work on issues such as closing loopholes in background checks.
“The last two weeks have been insane. I have had hundreds of people reach out to us,” said Dr. Sarah Goodpastor, a physician of internal medicine and a local leader of the Durango chapter of the group.
About 40 people gathered Wednesday evening to learn about efforts to encourage responsible gun ownership practices and to support educational outreach efforts promoting safe gun storage.
“Our group is not about gun control; it’s about gun safety,” Goodpastor said.
Carol Cure, who organized the Durango chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, also discussed efforts to organize a March For Our Lives event on March 24 that would be led by high school students. Plans are to end the march with a rally in Rotary Park.
Goodpastor also informed about 50 people who attended the meeting, which was held at the San Juan Basin Public Health office, about the group’s BeSmart campaign to reduce child gun deaths.
She noted that each year nearly 300 children younger than 17 in the United States gain access to a firearm and unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else. In addition, about 500 children younger than 17 die by suicide with a gun each year.
The BeSmart campaign includes a one-hour training program on gun safety, encourages the spread of gun safety practices among community groups and encourages people to have frank discussions about gun safety.
“Every day, I think about who has a gun in their house and who has it safely secured,” said Goodpastor, who has two elementary-age children.
Discussions about gun safety and safe gun storage, she said, should be as common and informative among parents of school-age children as are discussions of their children’s dietary restrictions.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
