The problem begins with an unsecured, loaded gun — typically left unattended in a car, placed underneath a pillow, tucked away in a nightstand, lodged in between the pillow cushions, or forgotten on a closet shelf. These firearms lie in plain sight, turning ordinary moments into horrific tragedies. A curious child discovers a hidden “toy,” a thief finds an easy score, or someone in crisis turns into an irreversible loss.
A majority of firearms in the United States are improperly secured. Today, nearly 4.6 million children live in homes with at least one unlocked gun. As a result, the youngest members of our communities are paying the price. Guns are now the number one killer of kids in America.
At the beginning of 2024, a seven-year-old in Indiana was shot by an unsecured firearm. In April, a three-year-old in Ohio was killed after he unintentionally shot himself with a relative’s handgun. And just a few months ago, a toddler in Virginia was shot by another child with an unlocked handgun. These heartbreaking incidents are all too common and happen only because someone left out their firearm.
After these tragedies, we selfishly carry on, allowing this senseless violence to persist. To prevent further loss of life, we must rethink how we store our guns. To continue down our current path is to forfeit an appreciation for human life — especially the lives of the youngest and most vulnerable members of our communities.
An Evolution of Gun Culture
Why are so many children today living in homes with unsecured firearms? It is simply a part of American culture.
This cultural attachment to guns has evolved over the last two-and-a-half centuries, moving from the early days of militia culture to the status quo, where firearms have permeated both American political spaces and popular culture. The United States now stands alone among high-income nations with more civilian-owned guns than people.
Americans have always had a cultural attachment to firearms, but their rapid proliferation in American homes is instead a relatively new development. A rise in unsafe gun storage practices has accompanied this increase. Caroline E. Light, a Senior Lecturer and the Director of Undergraduate Studies at Harvard’s Program in Women, Gender, and Sexuality, and author of “Stand Your Ground,” provides insight into this recent evolution. In an interview with the Harvard Political Review, Light points to District of Columbia v. Heller and the subsequent NYSRPA v. Bruen rulings as pivotal in bolstering the prevailing cultural narrative that has led to increased gun ownership and improper storage practices.
The decision in Heller guarantees the ownership of a firearm for self-defense. “Once that gets inscribed as a constitutional interpretation by our highest court,” Light said. “More and more people embrace the idea that firearms are, first and foremost, tools of self-defense — rather than elements of destruction.” Since the 2008 ruling, the number of civilian-owned firearms has nearly doubled by 200 million, and guns are increasingly perceived as commonplace. As this mindset grows, so too have unsafe storage practices. A recent survey from the Centers for Disease Control found that many Americans now leave their guns unlocked and loaded — even when children are in the home.
The Bruen decision, handed down roughly 13 years after the Heller decision, offers more flexibility to courts regarding what is an acceptable state-level Second Amendment challenge. As a result, said Light, “we are seeing all of these … challenges to regulations designed to mitigate the loss of life,” including those that would require gun owners to responsibly store their firearms.
Between 2011 and 2021, gun deaths among children spiked by 87%. In response to this alarming trend, legislation requiring the safe storage of firearms has been signed into law in various states — most recently in my state of Michigan — to curb these preventable deaths. However, the life-saving potential of these laws is now under threat, as the Bruen decision has set a precedent that could undermine their enforcement, opening the door to legal challenges that question their constitutionality.
Light said both of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions come as a result of “a long-standing, multi-decade effort led by the gun rights lobbyists and activists to redefine the Second Amendment in a way that clearly distorts [its] historical intent.” The attitudes surrounding gun ownership and the Supreme Court decisions reinforce each other, with Bruen making it much more difficult to keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them. Light notes that the consequences of these efforts have been “devastating for human thriving.”
The Mass Shooting at Oxford High School
The same devastation Light spoke of is personal to me.
On November 30, 2021, I survived a mass shooting at my high school in Oxford, Michigan. At 12:51 p.m., a student exited a bathroom in a hallway near my English classroom and opened fire with 32 rounds from an unsecured semi-automatic handgun he had brought from home. At the time, our state did not require gun owners, such as his parents, to responsibly store firearms.
My peers and I were forced to barricade ourselves in the classroom, using ordinary school supplies — scissors, tape dispensers, and the anthology of short stories we were supposed to read — as makeshift weapons. In nine minutes, the shooter murdered four students and injured seven others, including a teacher.
Directly following the attack, the shooter was charged with 24 criminal charges, including terrorism. In an unprecedented move, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald also prosecuted the parents of the shooter — each with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Two Groundbreaking Convictions
“They did nothing.” Throughout both trials, Prosecutor McDonald alleged that the parents of the Oxford shooter, despite being aware that their son was in crisis, did nothing to get him the help he needed. Instead, they gifted him a 9mm Sig Sauer as an early Christmas present. They were both later convicted and each sentenced to 10-15 years in prison on April 9, 2024. This case marks the first time the parents of a school shooter have been found guilty of gross negligence.
While these verdicts are undeniably groundbreaking, they will never bring back Hana St. Juliana, Tate Myre, Justin Shilling, and Madisyn Baldwin to their families. They will not repair the injuries — seen and unseen — of those in the building that day. They will not pick up the pieces of our shattered community. What these verdicts will do, however, is highlight the importance of securing one’s firearms.
Using the same handgun involved in the shooting, McDonald took only 10 seconds during the closing arguments at the parents’ trial to demonstrate the effortless process of securing one’s firearm with a cable lock. “The smallest, littlest things could have prevented these deaths,” said McDonald.
A few days before the parents’ sentencing, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald spoke with the HPR. McDonald said she is expected to feel “proud” about the convictions, but she is not about to “take a victory lap.”
“The retribution aspect of prosecution is not what makes me want to be a prosecutor. … In fact, I think it can be dangerous,” said McDonald. “That’s what’s so tricky about this case, right? Because it’s so outrageous, and it involves the death of four kids.” Despite multiple warning signs of their son’s impending violence, including disturbing drawings and behaviors that alarmed school officials, the parents decided to not only buy him a gun, but also leave it tucked away in a nightstand next to a pair of jeans. McDonald emphasizes that while she did charge the parents in this case, what if she had not? “If all of these facts were disclosed, then what? It would fly in the face of what we know to be just and necessary to live in our society,” she said.
The ripple effects of the Oxford cases extend beyond Michigan. Last week, a high school student in Georgia used an AR-style rifle to kill four classmates and injure several others. His father, who allegedly gifted him the weapon, now faces charges under similar circumstances.
“As much as I dislike the practicalities of having this case played out on such a big stage with the media, I am also aware of many cases — or potential cases — that it has impacted and potentially saved lives,” said McDonald. Most prosecutors would stop at sentencing. Instead, McDonald is redirecting her office’s focus towards “upstream” gun violence prevention. In June, she launched the Commission to Address Gun Violence in Oakland County, with the intent at developing bipartisan, data-driven solutions to this problem. She also continues to show up for communities impacted by this problem daily by marching, testifying in front of the Michigan legislature, and engaging in coalition-building.
Since the decision and the recent implementation of Michigan’s new safe storage law in February of 2024, which requires adults to store their guns when children at home, gun shops throughout Southeastern Michigan report increased sales of cable locks and safes.
A Transformative Culture Shift?
In response to both the Oxford High School shooting and the tragedy at Michigan State University nearly a year later, concerned parents, survivors, and advocacy organizations came together to demand crucial reforms, including the aforementioned secure storage law, a background check on every firearm sale, and a law to remove firearms from those who may be a danger to themselves or others. After a few months of coordination with advocacy groups and the Michigan state legislature, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed these bills into law.
Bonnie A. Perry, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, played a prominent role in implementing these three gun reform bill packages. As a member of the End Gun Violence Michigan coalition, which includes youth organizations, survivors, researchers, concerned citizens, and interfaith organizations, Bishop Perry recognizes the significance of the Oxford verdicts in elevating conversations regarding safe storage practices.
“I think it’s really something,” said Bishop Perry in an interview with the HPR. “Parents are culpable for the actions of their children when it comes to something this egregious.” She added, “I think this is where we get the transformation,” emphasizing the profound impact of the legal proceedings on shifting societal norms surrounding gun ownership and safety.
In the wake of the recent verdicts and the enforcement of the Michigan safe storage law, End Gun Violence Michigan has leveraged proactive messaging through billboards urging responsible gun storage: “Kids at home? Lock your guns. It’s the law.” and “How come you’re not locking up the gun, Mom?” All too often, we avoid these conversations, but End Gun Violence and Michigan-based advocates are attempting to change that.
We have seen a similar story before with road traffic accidents and cultural attitudes toward seat belts. In the 1960s and 1970s, seat belts were widely unpopular, and many Americans attempted to remove them from their cars. However, after a multi-decade effort by advocates to influence social norms and mandate their use, 85% of drivers and passengers reported using their seat belts in 2010. This shift is significant, as wearing a seat belt reduces the likelihood of dying in a road traffic accident by 47%. We can apply the same standard to gun storage practices to prevent unintentional shootings, firearm suicide, and other forms of gun violence.
Bishop Perry envisions community conversations continuing to grow as a result of new educational initiatives on secure storage in Michigan, reinforcing the power of peer pressure in driving cultural change (as seen through the adoption of seat belts). “Word of mouth can shift a culture and make our communities safer,” Perry explained.
Culture, Law and Justice
Safe and secure storage saves lives. When guns are not secured, tragedy is far too often a result. As with any cultural transformation, achieving widespread proper storage practices will be a gradual process that will require coordination between stakeholders, conversations in the community, and direct action on the part of legislators all around the country. Whether it is to keep a curious child from a horrific outcome or to prevent theft or other forms of gun violence, safe and secure storage as the law of the land, and, more permanently, as a culture simply makes sense. It is something all Americans must strive for.
