LOCK THEM UP

While certainly a controversial issue, there is at least one thing about guns that we can all agree on: Guns must be kept out of the wrong hands, especially children. 

In the U.S. 89% of children killed by unintentional shootings occur in the home, mostly when children play with their parent’s gun while unattended. Across the country, 4.6 million children live in a home with guns that are improperly stored, unlocked, and loaded.

Not surprisingly, the data also shows us that accessibility to guns doubles your risk of homicide and triples your risk of completing suicide.

Eighty percent of youth suicide attempts occurred using a gun in a home, either theirs or at the home of someone they know.    

“America’s gun violence epidemic claims more than 100 lives every day, and our communities have had enough,” said U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean.  “They know that the safety of our families, friends and neighbors is on the line – and that it’s time to implement common-sense gun safety legislation.”

This week, Congresswoman Dean, who founded the PA Safe Caucus following the mass shooting in Sandy Hook that claimed the lives of 20 young children, attended a PA House Democratic Policy Committee hearing on gun safety, joining the call to enact a bill (H.B. 525) that would require gunowners in the Commonwealth to store their firearms safely.

Two other bills were also discussed at the hearing hosted by State Rep. Tim Briggs, including one on universal background checks and another that would require the reporting of lost or stolen firearms. But it was safe storage, which would have the greatest impact on child safety, that had the greatest consensus.

That’s not surprising because principles of safe handling and safe gun storage are popular with gun owners and proponents of gun rights. While 54% of surveyed gun owners say they lock up their guns, 46% percent say they don’t.

As a matter of public policy, safe storage is analogous to seat belt laws for cars, explained Donna Cooper, PCCY Executive Director, who also testified at the hearing.

“As cars became ubiquitous in the 50’s and 60”, society learned the hard way, that we had to fight the industry and demand regulatory controls to save lives,” Donna reminded the committee. “Since then, injury and death due to motor vehicle crashes have steadily declined over the last 20 years. During the same period, death and injury due to firearms has remained about the same.”

For the children in those homes with unlocked firearms, and for the children who visit unlocked homes, House Bill 525 could be the difference between life and death. 

Contact your state legislator and urge them to co-sponsor the firearms safe storage bill.