Jim and Sarah Brady, Members of Congress, Big City Mayors and a Mother who Lost Her Son To Gunfire Call For Child Safety Locks to be Sold with Every Handgun

Handgun Control, Inc. to Launch a National Child Safety Lock Campaign

Mar 12, 1997

(Washington, DC) Nearly 1.2 million latchkey children have access to loaded and unlocked firearms. It should not be surprising, therefore, that children unintentionally fire guns 10,000 times every year, resulting in at least 800 deaths. Additionally, approximately 1,900 children and teenagers attempt suicide with a firearm every year. More than three-fourths of them are fatal.

These deaths are preventable!

Today, Handgun Control, Inc. Chair Sarah Brady and her husband, former White House Press Secretary James Brady, joined with Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-IL); Congressmen Charles Schumer (D-NY-9) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3); Chicago Mayor and President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Richard Daley; Ft. Wayne, Indiana Mayor and Vice President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Paul Helmke; and Ms. Sally Welch, whose 15-year-old son was unintentionally shot by his teenage cousin, to unveil federal legislation, which would require that every handgun sold in this country be accompanied by a child safety lock and a warning about the dangers and legal consequences of improperly storing firearms.

"Many parents buy a gun as an insurance policy or a family protection plan, but it ends up as a death certificate in a family tragedy," said Sarah Brady. "I hope that the gun industry will recognize its corporate responsibility to the children of this nation by supporting the sensible legislation being introduced today."

A recent study by the U.S. General Accounting Office found that child safety locks could have prevented all unintentional firearm deaths in which children under age 6 killed themselves or others. A law requiring the sale of these locks with every handgun could also prevent innumerable unintentional shootings and suicides among older children and teens.

"If the government can mandate child-proof caps on aspirin bottles and child safety seats in automobiles -- all in the name of protecting our nation’s young -- why on earth can’t Congress require the sale of a child safety lock with every handgun?" asked James Brady.

Manufacturers can equip guns with child safety locks, or they can be sold separately, for as little as $10.95. Before the lock is applied, the ammunition must be removed from the gun. A key is then needed in order to unlock the gun, load and fire it. All guns should be stored unloaded, with the ammunition and gun locked in separate cabinets. If a child or another unauthorized user, however, does gain access to the gun, the safety lock will prevent that person from loading and firing the gun.

"Keeping a gun unloaded and locked up should not be a choice," said Ms. Welch. "The gun that killed my son was carelessly stored in a family member’s house and was nearly taken into a school, where it could have endangered many more young lives. Guns left accessible in the home endanger not only the members of that household, but also the friends and family who come into that house and the community."

During National Gun Violence Prevention Week (March 30-April 4) National SAFE KIDS Campaign will work with Handgun Control, Inc. and local activists on a national grassroots effort to support passage of the Child Safety Lock Act of 1997.

"As a pediatric trauma surgeon, I often see firsthand the devastation of unintentional firearm-related injuries," said National SAFE KIDS Campaign President Dr. Martin Eichelberger in a statement released at the news conference. "By enlisting the cooperation of gun dealers, consumers and lawmakers, we will have the opportunity to prevent unintentional firearm-related injury and death among our nation’s children."

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As the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence, the Brady Campaign, with its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, works to enact and enforce sensible gun laws, regulations and public policies. The Brady Campaign is devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities

Dan Gross is the President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. A photo and more information about Dan Gross is available here.
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