LOCK YOUR GLOCK WORKSHOP: WHEN OUR CHILDREN ARE SAFE, OUR COMMUNITY IS SAFE.
LOCK YOUR GLOCK WORKSHOP: WHEN OUR CHILDREN ARE SAFE, OUR COMMUNITY IS SAFE.
In Fort Worth’s central city, a child’s death has sharpened an urgent question for families: What does it take to keep an unsecured gun out of a child’s hands?
A gun can sit quietly in a home, out of sight and out of mind—until a child finds it.
That possibility became painfully real for Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr., after a five-year-old girl was killed by an unsecured gun in a home. The tragedy moved him to action. He created the Lock Your Glock Workshop to bring gun safety information, free safety locks, and lock boxes to underserved central-city communities.
The first workshop will take place October 15 in the Milford Kelly Fellowship Hall at New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church. Its message is direct: keeping children safe around guns is an adult responsibility, and secure storage belongs in everyday conversations about family and community safety.
The effort brings together Scared Stiff, a gun violence prevention curriculum of the Association of Midnight Basketball; Be SMART, a separate campaign; Cook Children’s Aim for Safety; the North Central Texas Council of Governments’ Stop the Bleed program; and Giffords Gun Owners for Safety. God’s Army, with David and Aracely Ramos, is also part of the community information effort. The Ministers Justice Coalition of Texas and LULAC 22308 are workshop sponsors. Each partner brings a distinct part of the response, from prevention and education to emergency readiness and community outreach.
Be SMART is a program of the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. Launched in 2015, it works to reduce deaths, injuries, and trauma that can result when a child or teen gains access to a gun. Its framework is designed for gun owners and non-gun owners alike:
- Secure guns in homes and vehicles.
- Model responsible behavior around guns.
- Ask about unsecured guns in other homes.
- Recognize the role of guns in suicide.
- Tell your peers to Be SMART. (besmartforkids.org)
The advice applies well beyond a gun owner’s front door. A firearm hidden in a drawer or closet may still be found by a curious or determined child. Be SMART encourages adults to store guns unloaded, locked, and separate from ammunition, and to talk with other caregivers about secure storage before children visit. (besmartforkids.org)
Scared Stiff approaches prevention through conversation and lived experience. Operated through the Association of Midnight Basketball, the curriculum uses survivor testimonials, justice-system reality checks, and community dialogue to help participants confront the consequences of gun violence. It is integrated into the Midnight Basketball League as a core health and education component and is led by Lawrence C. Gray, Jr., M.Ed. Link: https://scaredstiff.org/
For Tatum, the workshop is one part of a larger community effort. Three days later, New Mount Rose will host its second annual Guns to Gardens event in the church’s back parking lot, creating another opportunity to remove unwanted guns from the community. Together, the events make space for prevention and action: securing firearms, sharing information, and helping residents take steps toward safer neighborhoods.
Churches, media organizations, healthcare providers, public schools, and community members are invited to attend the workshop and help carry the message to families across Fort Worth.
For more information, contact New Mount Rose at 817-966-7625 or newmtrosembc@gmail.com.
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