John,

Good news! The Firearm Safe Storage Awareness Initiative bill (H.B.427) was recently introduced in the NC House. This bill would launch a statewide firearm safe storage awareness initiative to educate the public about the importance of safely storing firearms and facilitate the distribution of gun locks.

Please take a minute to email the bill’s sponsors to thank them for introducing this legislation aimed at preventing suicides, accidental shootings and school shootings. Legislators need to know they have support in the community as they move this legislation forward.

Safe storage is so important in North Carolina since one out of three NC parents own a gun [1] and over one in four of those parents’ guns are unsecured [2]. 

 

Here are some startling statistics that demonstrate the need for people to be educated about the importance of safe storage.

  • The number of N.C. children and teens who took their own life with a gun doubled from 2008 to 2018 [3].
  • Most guns kids use in school shootings come from their home [4]. 
  • 73% of kids under 10 know where a gun is stored in their home [5].
  • In a recent study of households with firearms, 33.9% of households had an adolescent who said they could access a loaded firearm in under 5 minutes [6].

The sponsors of H.B.427 need to hear from you today with your support of this important piece of legislation.

During this uncertain time, and especially with new gun owners, we need to be talking about safe firearm storage, to keep guns away from kids, and from adults who are a danger to themselves or others.

Thank you for taking action to keep people safe.
--Becky







 

[1] NC State Center for Health Statistics. “Do you have any guns in or around your home?” 2016-2017 North Carolina Statewide CHAMP Survey Results, Gun Safety. https://schs.dph.ncdhhs.gov/data/champ/201617/K23Q01.html 

[2] NC State Center for Health Statistics. “Are any of the guns in or around your home ever kept unlocked?” 2016 - 2017 North Carolina Statewide CHAMP Survey Results, Gun Safety. https://schs.dph.ncdhhs.gov/data/champ/201617/k23q03.html

[3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2020. WISQARS Fatal Injury Reports.

[4] Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence: “A report published by the US Secret Service and the Dept. of Education found that in 65% of school shootings covered by the study, the shooter used a gun obtained from his or her own home or from the home of a relative.” Report: “The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative – Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States.” (July 2004). In addition, A Wall Street Journal report in April of 2018 examining nearly three decades of American mass school shootings stated that the killers in these shootings mostly used guns owned by a family member; the report addressed the big role that a lack of gun safety at home has played in school shootings. [Hobbs, Tawnell D. (April 5, 2018). “Most Guns Used in School Shootings Come From Home,” Wall Street Journal.]

[5] Baxley F & Miller M, Parental Misperceptions About Children and Firearms, 2006; 160(5).  

[6] Salhi C, Azrael D, Miller M. Parent and Adolescent Reports of Adolescent Access to Household Firearms in the United States. JAMA Network Open. 2021 Mar 1;4(3):e210989. 


 


 

 

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North Carolinians Against Gun Violence Action Fund
PO Box 52425, Durham, NC 27717
[email protected]

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