At a recent Lexington County School District One board meeting, members approved Superintendent Gerrita Postlewait’s signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Be SMART campaign.

Launched in 2015, Be SMART promotes gun safety to reduce gun-related deaths and injuries among children and teenagers.

The Be SMART framework stands for:

• S: secure all guns in your home and vehicles.
• M: model responsible behavior around guns.
• A: ask about unsecured guns in other homes.
• R: recognize the role of guns in suicide.
• T: tell your peers to be smart.

According to U.S. News and World Report, there have been 39 school shootings in 2024, resulting in 59 injuries and 18 deaths. A 2022 report on school shootings also done by the U.S. News and World Report found 100 injuries and 40 deaths.

Be SMART encourages gun safety by promoting the importance of keeping firearms securely stored and away from children.

A report by Everytown Research and Policy found that nearly 360 children in the United States gain access to a firearm each year and unintentionally shoot themselves or others.  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported that in 2015, nearly 4.6 million children lived in a home with a loaded and unlocked firearm.

The Be SMART campaign offers gun storage solutions for individuals who request them, allowing them to secure all firearms in both the home and vehicle. These storage options range from a full-size gun safety lock box, a console for vehicles, gun case, cable lock and trigger lock.

Each storage option includes biometric locks, which require a fingerprint or facial recognition to grant access, preventing unauthorized use. 

According to Libby Roof, a communication specialist at Lexington One, Be SMART volunteers reported distributing 5,000 gun locks in the 2022-23 year and nearly 1,200 gun locks in 2024.  The city of Columbia currently ranks 28^th in the nation for stolen guns from vehicles. In 2021, Columbia ranked third.

The Be SMART organization has asked Lexington One to raise awareness of its campaign, requesting that the Be SMART framework be shared in school handbooks and on social media.

Lexington One plans to hold a ceremonial signing, where board members, Be SMART representatives and law enforcement officers who serve as school resource officers (SROs) will make the partnership official.