SMOKEY POINT — Before he began ministering to the people of North Snohomish County, Matt Simonis grew up on a farm in Oregon, where gun ownership was a simple and accepted way of life.
“Our rule was, you kill it, you eat it,” Simonis said.
When Simonis became a father, he removed all the firearms from his home until all his children were at least 6 years old. But after the shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School last fall, the associate pastor at LIFEchurch360 in Smokey Point knew he needed to do more.
That “something more” was enough to get the church recognized as a “Local Champion” for firearm safety by the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Simonis worked with Arlington police and the Tulalip Cabela’s to obtain 800 gun locks, which his church gave away at its “Swap Meat” barbecue, a few weeks after the shooting.
Simonis explained that Dean Jenkin, a chaplain with Stanwood Camano Incident Support, also serves as a board member and volunteer at LIFEchurch360. He helped the church receive 500 gun locks from Arlington police, while Cabela’s supplied the rest.
“We’d already planned to do the barbecue when the shooting happened,” Simons said. “I’d already acquired gun locks for my personal collection, so I knew who to talk to.”
Simonis had only hoped for 50 gun locks from Cabela’s, which instead presented him with 300.
“They all went quick,” Simonis said. “We had a lot of church members and non-church members alike attending that event.”
The foundation is having its third annual Project ChildSafe “S.A.F.E. Summer” campaign, to emphasize responsible firearm storage during a time of year when children are home from school and more likely to be unattended, Simonis asserted that gun ownership and child safety are not mutually exclusive.
“Even when they were very young, I taught my kids all about gun safety,” Simonis said. “When I’m not using my guns, they’re locked up in a safe, and even when they’re out, they have locks on them.
“There’s already enough violence in the world,” he added. “Accidents don’t need to happen. They can be eliminated, and free gun locks are a great way of doing that.”
Of LIFEchurch360, foundation president Steve Sanetti said, “They are great examples of how the firearms-owning community is committed to safety and personal responsibility, and their work is instrumental in helping reduce firearm accidents.”
S.A.F.E. Summer’s message is “Own It? Respect It. Secure It.”
S.A.F.E. serves as an acronym for Store your firearms responsibly when not in use; be Aware of those around you who should not have unauthorized access to guns; Focus on your responsibility as a firearm owner; and Educate yourself and others about safe firearm handling and storage.
