WEEKLY UPDATE: 10/22/26
At this year’s sixth annual #KeepKidsSafe Connecticut Statewide Gun Buyback and Gun Safe Giveaway Day on Saturday, October 3, 16 town and city police departments partnered with student volunteers, advocates, and local organizations, including hospitals, to distribute more than 600 gun safes and collect nearly 350 firearms.
Governor Ned Lamont and Department of Public Health (DPH) Commissioner Manisha Juthani, MD, joined Newtown Action Alliance, Junior Newtown Action Alliance, CT Against Gun Violence, City of Bridgeport Police Department, Hartford HealthCare, and others at a press conference in Bridgeport on Friday, October 2, to promote the event.
“Public health is all about prevention,” Juthani said in her remarks. “We saw a surge of gun violence in the pandemic, and I would like to think that it is the collective action of so many people here in the state that has helped reduce it to below levels that it was before the pandemic. That does not mean we don’t have more work to do. It is these types of interventions that are going to make the difference in our communities.”
The following communities participated in the 6th annual event: Bridgeport, Cheshire, Danbury, Guilford Hartford, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven, New London, Newtown, Norwalk, Plainfield, Stamford, Waterbury, Waterford, and Westport.
Keep Kids Safe Campaign
The Campaign to Keep Kids Safe was established in 2019 by the Newtown Action Alliance Foundation and the Ethan Miller Song Foundation to prevent childhood gun suicides, unintentional shootings and gun homicides through public education, safe-storage resources and voluntary gun-disposal opportunities.
Since 2021, communities participating in the annual #KeepKidsSafe events have distributed nearly 3,000 gun safes, along with thousands of gun-safety educational materials, and collected and destroyed more than 2,400 firearms.
The statewide coalition includes the Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) and several local hospitals and health systems, including Bridgeport Hospital, Connecticut Children’s, Hartford Hospital, MidState Medical Center, Northwell Health, Saint Francis Hospital, Saint Mary’s Hospital, Stamford Health, and UConn Health Waterbury Hospital, Yale New Haven Hospital.
“Nearly 14 years after the Sandy Hook tragedy, we know all too well that the devastating loss of a loved one to gun violence can change a family forever. What makes these tragedies even more heartbreaking is knowing how many could have been prevented,” said Po Murray, chairwoman of the Newtown Action Alliance and Newtown Action Alliance Foundation.
“We launched the #KeepKidsSafe campaign with the Ethan Miller Song Foundation to prevent childhood gun suicides, unintentional shootings, and gun homicides by educating families about the importance of secure gun storage, providing free gun safes, and offering opportunities to voluntarily remove unwanted guns from our communities. We are deeply grateful to the Connecticut Hospital Association and its member hospitals for recognizing that preventing gun injuries and deaths must begin long before someone arrives in an emergency room. Every child deserves the freedom to grow up without the fear of gun violence, and we will continue working together to make that a reality,” Murray said.
“Gun violence is a public health crisis that requires a comprehensive response,” Colleen Violette, public health services manager at DPH’s Office of Firearm Injury Prevention, said in a statement. “Voluntary gun buybacks and free safe giveaways are one important part of that response. Fewer unsecured guns in our homes and vehicles mean fewer stolen guns, fewer guns reaching children and fewer preventable injuries and deaths.”
In an interview with WTNH on September 22, Murray and Kristin Song, co-founder of the Ethan Miller Song Foundation and Ethan’s mother, reflected on the impetus of the initiative and shared how the #KeepKidsSafe Statewide Gun Buyback and Gun Safe Giveaway Day has evolved over the years.
Related News:
#KeepKidsSafe Statewide Gun Buyback and Gun Safe Giveaway Day Held Across Connecticut This Weekend
Connecticut Hospitals Support Statewide #KeepKidsSafe Gun Buyback and Gun Safe Giveaway Day
Connecticut Hospitals Participate in #KeepKidsSafe Statewide Gun Buyback and Gun Safe Giveaway Day
