One Response to “Who is Mamanista?”

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   6.18.08 at 3:36 pm
   Emily comments:

   As a blogger for parents and families, you know that children’s safety is a top issue. That’s why I am hoping you will help spread the word about National ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Day.

   Based on the fact that in America, 40 percent of homes with children have a gun and nearly 1.7 million children live in a home with a loaded, unlocked gun, ASK Day reminds parents to ask if there are guns in the homes where their children play.

   ASK Day is held annually on June 21, the first day of summer, a time of year when children play more often in other homes. The focus of this year’s ASK Day will be “One Simple Question, Thousands of Reasons to ASK” — a reference to the single question that could save thousands of children’s lives from senseless gun tragedies.

   The day is sponsored by PAX/Real Solutions to Gun Violence, a nonpolitical nonprofit that gives all Americans practical solutions for making their families, schools, and communities safer, and thousands of parents and organizations across the country get involved each year. PAX founded the ASK campaign in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2000.

   According to the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, eight children are killed with guns each day — almost 3,000 kids each year. Another 37 children are wounded with guns each day — more than 13,000 each year.
   Parents ask all sorts of questions to protect their children when they go play at the home of a friend, neighbor or caregiver. But there is one important question that more than half of parents say it never even occurred to them to ask: “Is there a gun in your home?”

   If the answer is no, that is one less thing to worry about. If the answer is yes, parents are urged to ensure that the guns are stored locked and separate from ammunition, preferably in a gun safe.

   We are hoping you will tell parents about ASK Day and help encourage them to sign the ASK Day Pledge online at http://www.paxusa.org/ask/askday/pledge.html.

   More information and ideas for ASK Day activities for parents and communities are online at http://www.askingsaveskids.org or http://www.paxusa.org.

   Thank you for your consideration.

   Sincerely,

   The ASK Team

   Emily Spector
   Program Intern
   PAX/ Real Solutions to Gun Violence
   100 Wall Street, 2nd Floor
   New York, New York 10005
   212.269.5104
   emily@paxusa.org