ATLANTA — Atlanta Public Schools is prioritizing gun safety with a new resolution.
School board members unanimously passed a resolution during their meeting earlier this week, vowing to "work with local law enforcement agencies, health agencies, and non-profits to collaborate and increase efforts to inform District stakeholders about secure storage of firearms in their homes."
The move comes after four students were shot and killed in a high school shooting in Michigan. Seven people were also hurt in the shooting, according to investigators.
"The handgun and ammunition used in this week's mass shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan was purchased by the suspect's father less than a week before the shooting," the resolution reads.
The document outlines that a majority of gun violence on school grounds stems from current students or recent graduates, citing most of those suspected of the violence obtained their gun from their own home or relative's home.
School districts across the country have started proactively sending informative material home to parents and guardians regarding firearm storage laws and best practices, the resolution reads. The example emphasizes that "keeping students, teachers and staff safe from the threat of gun violence should be the responsibility of all adult stakeholders at each of our school sites."
The resolution was unanimously accepted by the nine-member board.
“This is how every school district across the country should respond to the devastating tragedy we saw just last week in Michigan – by reminding gun owners that it’s their responsibility and obligation to store their guns securely,” Maggie Zwettler, a volunteer with the Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action, said in a news release.
“The simple fact is that if kids didn’t have access to firearms, we wouldn’t be suffering through this uniquely American epidemic of school shootings. The steps that the Atlanta School Board will take to promote secure firearm storage will keep our kids safer in and out of school," she said.