Prevent A Gun Tragedy –
SPEAK UP!

In the words of Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime died in the infamous mass shooting on February 14, 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida: “If a red flag law had existed then, my daughter would be alive today.”

Our Alexandria, Virginia-based nonprofit was founded on the one year anniversary of the Parkland shooting.

Safer Country initiated our “Prevent A Gun Tragedy – SPEAK UP!” campaign in 2021 in Fairfax County. We helped create this:  fairfaxcounty.gov/topics/red-flag

Now, we’re seeking to expand that campaign in Fairfax with signs and digital advertising and bring it to other jurisdictions in Virginia.

Virginia is the 19th state to enact a red flag law. This law saves lives. It empowers the police to disarm a person for up to two weeks if a judge believes there’s an imminent danger that person will use their gun or guns to harm themselves or others.

If the basis for the original intervention hasn’t changed when reviewed at a required court hearing 14 days later, that person may be barred from purchasing, possessing or transporting a firearm for as much as 180 days.

In Virginia, a preliminary protection order does not require the removal of a gun. This law can protect people and prevent domestic violence homicides with guns.

Over 250,000 guns are stolen every year and are used to commit more deadly crimes. Homemade guns are also used to evade the law. Besides the red flag law, Safer Country also supports effective measures to prevent gun crimes, such as:

• closing all the loopholes in our national background check system
• getting every state to create their own background check system to expand the categories of people that may be barred
• banning military-style assault weapons – at a minimum for men 25 and under and women 21 and under, in line with MRI studies determing when brains are fully developed
• banning high-capacity magazines
• requiring serial numbers on every weapon produced to prevent criminals from using “ghost” guns to escape accountability
• restricting access to body armor, and
• passing safer/secure gun and ammunition storage laws to prevent tragic accidents and theft.

Guns Became the Leading Cause of Death for American Children and Teens in 2020

Safer Country is especially outraged by a newly-created AR-15 that was made for children under 5. It’s called a JR-15 and is being marketed so children will beg their parents for it. This isn’t satire. It’s real.

A three-year-old shooting a JR-15.

Please join Safer Country’s advocacy and educational efforts by making a tax-deductible donation today!

Together we can create a Safer Country.