PAX is a nonpolitical nonprofit organization working with all Americans to help bring an end to gun violence against children and families. PAX's two innovative programs -- SPEAK UP and ASK (Asking Saves Kids) -- offer practical solutions for protecting children from gun violence.
National ASK Day
On June 21, 2008, more than 50 partner organizations and individuals across the United States joined PAX in celebrating National ASK Day, which urges parents to ask if there are guns in the homes where their children play. Nationally, nearly 1.7 million children live in a home with a loaded, unlocked gun, and every year children are killed or seriously wounded as a result.
ASK Day kicks off summer vacation, a time of year when children play more often in other homes. This year's focus is "One Simple Question, Thousands of Reasons to ASK" -- a reference to the single question that would save thousands of children's lives from senseless gun tragedies.
Read About ASK Day 2008 • Sign the ASK Parent Pledge • Get More ASK Day Ideas
New Studies Confirm Importance of SPEAK UP Program and Anonymous Hotline
Two studies released in June find that the number of U.S. high school students carrying weapons and being threatened on school property remains high, and students’ willingness to report threats of school shootings depends largely on the school climate. These findings underscore the need to give students an anonymous mechanism for reporting threats in addition to creating a climate of trust in which threats are taken seriously.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention annual survey of youth risk behaviors finds that more than a million students (6 percent) continue to carry weapons to school at least once a month (down from 6.5 percent), and 8 percent of students have been threatened or injured with a weapon on school property one or more times in a year.
A separate study by the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Department of Education and Harvard Medical School's McLean Hospital is based on their earlier finding that in 81 percent of school shootings, the attackers tell someone about their plans beforehand – in nearly all cases, another student. The study finds that students’ trust of teachers and administrators, concerns about confidentiality, and anticipation of negative consequences for sharing information are central to their decisions about whether to report threats of a shooting. 1-866-SPEAK-UP is the first and only national toll-free hotline dedicated to giving students a way to report weapons threats anonymously. The SPEAK UP hotline empowers students to make the responsible decision to share what they know rather than risk silence, which could have tragic consequences.
