United Church of Wayland is launching a Gun Safety Initiative as a key part of its commitment to community well being and child safety.
The meeting of the Gun Safety Initiative will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5, at the United Church of Wayland, 411 East Superior St., Wayland.
As part of its Gun Safety Initiative, United Church of Wayland is sponsoring a meeting of community leaders, including local law enforcement, area school systems and churches, to discuss issues about safe gun storage and protecting children from firearm accidents.
All interested parties are invited to attend. This meeting will serve as a platform to create a task force of community leaders and stakeholders to work on these goals and to discuss the needs and opportunities in our area.
Gail Hollinger, community activist and spokesperson for United Church, said, “Guns are now the leading cause of death for children and teens. An unlocked gun at home increases risk of homicide by two times, suicide by three times, and domestic-violence fatality by five times. Every day, an average of eight children and teens are unintentionally shot, involving an improperly stored or misused gun found in the home.”
“This campaign is avoiding any position on gun-control laws,” said Committee Chair Nancy Whitley, whose late husband was a Michigan State Police Trooper. “We are not entering that forum. However, innocent adults and children are being killed and injured. Families are devastated and suffering. We believe we can – and must – act to prevent further gun violence.
“This gun-safety social justice action is solely to bring safety measures into place to save lives, especially the lives of our children.”
Through the efforts of Whitley, United Church of Wayland recently received a grant from the United Church of Christ to support this work.
Seems rather basic to lock guns. But not everyone does, as we see all to frequently from the news.
I really believe the work of Chair Nancy Whitley and committee member Gail and others are very important. Thank you for bringing gun safety issues to the forefront. I went to United Church of Wayland for 10 years and during that time Gail would bring up statistics about trafficking and she always had a finger on the pulse of what is actually happening in our community and she made people aware and brought people together so I for one really support this committee because both Nancy and Gail are just wonderful people they love God and they’re not stirring up any controversies they’re just telling the truth and bringing people together in a sensible way and I love that about these two wonderful women of Wayland. God bless this committee and all stakeholders in our community trying to keep everybody safe and alive. God bless you
Is it Monday December 4 or Tuesday December 5?
Is the purpose to merely promote responsible gun ownership (eg. keeping firearms locked up)?
Sorry. It is indeed Tuesday, Dec. 5.
This seems like a reasonable approach. Could potentially reach even more folks if it was made available via live streaming online.
Perhaps Zoom, YouTube, or FB live is possible. It would only require a decent microphone and one person who is moderately capable with tech.