WESTPORT — Two Staples High School students are spearheading local efforts to ensure firearms safety by promoting awareness  of the state “Ethan’s Law,” which requires gun owners to safely store untended firearms, whether loaded or unloaded.

Aidan Lapatine and Logan Noorily, co-presidents of the Staples Students Demand Action Club, joined Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice and Police Chief Foti Koskinas in signing a community letter to mark the fifth anniversary of the law.

In asking for support “in keeping our community safe by ensuring firearms at home are safely stored,” the letter asks Westporters to comply with the law’s requirements.

The law is named in tribute to Ethan Song, a 15-year-old Guilford resident, who “accidentally shot himself on Jan. 31, 2018, playing with one of three firearms he and a friend knew were kept in a bedroom closet. The .357 Magnum was one of three owned by the friend’s father, a private investigator,” according to the CTMirror.org.

Michael and Kristin Song, Ethan’s parents, had campaigned for adoption of the safeguards, which were adopted with strong bipartisan support in the General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont on June 13, 2019.

“The members of SDA are committed to preventing gun violence,” Lapatine, a senior, said in a statement. “Our safe storage campaign aims to educate parents and students on the risks associated with unsecured firearms. Notably, over 75 percent of firearms used in youth suicide attempts and unintentional injuries originate from the residences of the victim, a relative, or a friend.”

Lapatine and Noorily, with guidance from their advisor, Staples social studies teacher Catherine Schager, reinstated the SDA club last year and prioritized safe firearm storage awareness as their primary focus.

“As students deeply concerned about school safety,” Noorily, a junior, said in the statement, “we believe that impactful change can begin on a local level. Promoting safe storage is simply common sense.”

“Many people assume that gun control can only be addressed through legislative action,” added Lapatine. “However, practicing safe storage is an easy and immediate step that everyone can take.”

For more information about firearm safety, visit the U.S. Department of Justice Safe Firearm Storage Guide.