An event encouraging the proper storage of firearms will occur in Longmont on June 28, during which attendees can obtain free rapid release home safes and car safes for gun storage while supplies last. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the front parking lot of the Longmont Safety and Justice Center at 225 Kimbark Street. Each family can receive one free car safe and one free rapid release home safe at the event.
Colorado state law mandates that firearms be locked away securely when they are not in use to prevent access to unsupervised juveniles and unauthorized users. On January 1, a new law took effect in Colorado that requires handguns to be locked up when stored in a vehicle. Failure to lock away firearms securely is a class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 120 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $750.
About 80 percent of accidental deaths of young children with firearms occur when the child is playing with a gun at home. About 30 million children reside in a home with at least one firearm. 4.6 million children live in homes where a loaded firearm is stored and unlocked. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) also notes that polices requiring safe storage for firearms is associated with a 13.1-percent reduction in adolescent gun-related suicides.
The event is hosted by the UCC Longmont, Longmont Public Safety, and sponsored by several Colorado non-profits The event flyer specifies that all guns should be left at home and will not be allowed at the event.
For more information regarding the gun safe storage giveaway event, contact the Longmont Church of Christ at 303-776-4940.
