S.A.F.E. SUMMER CHAMPION 2017: MAJ TOURE

Maj Toure founded Back Guns Matter in 2015, a program dedicated to educating urban communities about firearms responsibility through training. Black Guns Matter is currently on a 50-state tour to reach urban communities across the country and educate them about safe firearms use and safe gun storage.

Project ChildSafe: Why are firearms safety and responsible storage of firearms when not in use important?

MT: Firearms safety is important because you are responsible for what happens with your firearm. If you own a firearm for protection, your job is to find a balance between accessibility and safe storage of, and both are achievable. People want their firearms to be accessible should the need for them arise, but it is also our responsibility to safely secure our guns. We can find a solution for everyone, whether it’s is a biometric safe, a trigger lock or a cable-style gun lock, and we can assess the dynamics of each individual’s home and figure out the best option for him or her. We always find a good middle ground between safety and accessibility.

Project ChildSafe: Please tell us a little about the things you do to help promote firearms safety in your community.

MT: Black Guns Matter is a firearms safety and training organization. We go to urban, high-crime and high-gun control areas to inform that demographic about firearms safety. We promote safety by hosting firearms safety events across the country. They are free and open to all who want to learn.

Putting people on the path to responsible gun ownership is the forefront of our work at Black Guns Matter. Our job is to inform our demographic, put them on a reputable path and watch them blossom. The feedback we are getting is amazing, and most people are positive about our message. It is hard to disagree with education, training and safety.

 

Project ChildSafe: Please tell us why you support NSSF’s Project ChildSafe program.

MT: We support the program because negligence of firearms safety affects children and families entirely too much. The lack of training, ignorance and carelessness are all preventable, and NSSF is doing tremendous work to make that point to a wide audience.

Black Guns Matter engages millions of Americans that have been left out of the responsible firearms ownership conversation. Just last week, we incorporated the NSSF Project ChildSafe program and the cable-style gun locks into our class and passed them out to everyone who attended. We walked them through the process of how they can use that lock and emphasized that the responsibility to keep that firearm secured and stored is up to them. There are many young people in our classes, and these people were not raised in the shooting sports. But through our program, they are on the path at a young age to start at a place of safety. The education and training can appeal to the minds and the hearts of this demographic, and allows for safe and responsible firearms ownership.