The June 11 Metro article “Schools try AI to detect weapons” detailed the increasing number of students bringing guns to school since the pandemic. The article suggested artificial-intelligence weapons detectors could help stop these guns and keep students safer.
The article failed to mention one of the most important ways to keep guns from getting into the hands of students in the first place: safe storage of firearms. More than two-thirds of school shooters access a firearm from their own home or that of a relative. Guns should be stored unloaded and locked in a secure place inaccessible to children, such as a gun safe. States with laws that require safe storage have lower rates of adolescent suicide, and safe storage can help prevent unintentional gun injuries and deaths, homicides and mass shootings.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) is spending millions to purchase school security systems, as the article noted. Mr. Youngkin could address the root cause of this crisis by supporting a safe-storage law. Gun owners have a responsibility to store their guns safely. Our laws should hold them to that standard, for the safety of our kids.
The writer is advocacy manager for the Center for Gun Violence Solutions.
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