Community Works, Gun Aware Project Distribute 4,000 Gun Locks After 2023 Murder-Suicide
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 3
Community Works, Gun Aware Project Distribute 4,000 Gun Locks After 2023 Murder-Suicide
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 3
Summary
More than 4,000 free gun locks have been handed out across a four-county area in Virginia since a 2023 local high school murder-suicide spurred the Gun Aware Project.
Volunteers from Community Works joined the effort at school events and through local outreach, pairing locks with storage-safety advice and speaking with more than 15,000 residents.
About 1,000 locks went to local departments, including the Giles County sheriff’s office, whose sheriff framed firearm safety as part of responsible gun ownership despite strong local support for gun rights.
The campaign targets a shared concern in polarized rural communities: firearms were the leading cause of death among U.S. children and teenagers, killing 2,581 people under 18 in 2023.
Early research tied to Community Works in six pilot counties in Virginia and Georgia found residents became less driven by national partisan divides and more likely to judge politics through local community performance.