On October 6, 1985, John Darling's 10-year-old son Brian was killed by a friend wielding a parent's gun. Brian's friend wanted to show off the gun he knew his parents kept in a drawer. The boys went to the friend's home. 15 minutes later Brian was dead.

Since then, Darling has been tireless in his efforts to encourage parents and guardians to take basic safety precautions. Asking if there are weapons where your children play, Darling says, doesn't infringe on anyone's rights. It's a safety issue and parents have a right to know.

Shortly after Brian's death, his Little League coach Dr. Edwin Massey collaborated with Darling on "Brian's Message," a film aimed at preventing similar accidents. Darling and Dr. Massey publicized the film and made copies available to schools, police departments and other groups. It garnered an enormous positive reaction and the publicity grew.

Soon after, Darling appeared on Oprah Winfrey's show along with several other parents of children who'd died in circumstances similar to Brian's. He found himself faced with the assumption that he was in favor of banning certain types of weapons. Then, as now, he stressed his pro-safety, not anti-gun, stance and emphasized the need to educate parents about keeping kids safe.

After Oprah and a write-up in Ladies' Home Journal, Darling was contacted by HBO with an offer o do a program about the issue as part of the "Life Stories: Families in Crisis" series. The resulting film, "GUNPLAY: The Last Day in the Life of Brian Darling," can still be found in TV listings. "GUNPLAY" earned a Cable Ace and an Emmy.

John Darling's work continues. He reaches out to any group that shares his motivation (he found PAX through a PSA in Parade Magazine) and says he's available to help in any way he can. "If you educate the parents, you don't have to worry about the kids," he says. "You need to reach the parents."