Gilroy
– In a season full of holiday safety precautions, Gilroy gun
owners are being asked to protect their family and friends from
accidental shootings by picking up a gun lock – for free.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – In a season full of holiday safety precautions, Gilroy gun owners are being asked to protect their family and friends from accidental shootings by picking up a gun lock – for free.
The Gilroy Police Department Monday placed a box full of firearm safety kits, including gun locks, in the lobby of the 7370 Rosanna St. station, a pick-up point for the national Project ChildSafe.
“They give us the locks for free, and we hand them out to anybody who wants one,” Sgt. Kurt Svardal said.
The locks prevent guns from being fired and, when used with safe handling and storage methods, will help prevent accidental or intentional misuse of firearms, protecting children and teen-agers.
Project ChildSafe is a two-phase program of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, in its second phase, funded by two U.S. Department of Justice grants totaling $30 million.
Earlier this year, Gilroy received 800 gun locks and safety kits in phase one of the program. Svardal did not know how many kits are currently in station’s box.
“We don’t keep track, because the whole thing about it is, they’re encouraged to be just given away,” he said. “If anybody comes in, we don’t ask any questions, we give them right to them.”
Last time around, the locks were placed right in the GPD lobby. Now, they’re behind the counter to prevent kids from playing with them, but they’re no less accessible to people who want one, Svardal said.
A total of 2,091,200 free gun locks will be distributed in the coming months to California citizens, and 12 million to gun owners across the country. Twenty million were distributed earlier this year.
Project ChildSafe also is conducting a national safety tour that will stop in South County this Saturday, first at Gavilan College and then at the Morgan Hill Police Department, 16200 Vineyard Blvd.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is endorsing the program and its partnership with the State Sheriff’s Association, the California Police Chief’s Association, the California Highway Patrol and the California Department of Fish and Game.
“I strongly encourage Californians with firearms in their homes to obtain a Project ChildSafe gun lock free of charge,” Schwarzenegger said in a media release. “I also urge all firearm owners to renew their commitment to practice safe storage and handling of firearms.”
The safety kits’ gun locks consist of an armored steel cable with one end permanently secured to a keyed padlock. The locks are designed to fit many commonly owned firearms, including automatic pistols, revolvers, bolt action rifles, and shotguns.
“They’re considered very universal, but I’m sure you can find some guns it won’t work on,” Svardal said.
The cable is threaded through an unloaded gun’s ejection port and out the magazine well or, with a revolver, is threaded through the barrel or an empty cylinder chamber, with the barrel open. The free end of the cable is then inserted into the padlock and locked with a key.
Firearms killed 73 people and injured 57 in Santa Clara County in 2002, the most recent data available, according to the California Department of Health Services. One of the deaths and 13 of the injuries were unintentional.
Six children age 12 and under were killed by firearms in the county in 2002, and four teens between 13 and 20 years old. No children suffered nonfatal firearm injuries that year, while 10 teen-agers did.
Gun-related suicides and accidental deaths among children and teens dropped in the 10 years from 1992 to 2001, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Project ChildSafe still encourages gun owners to use general safety tips, such as keeping firearms locked and away from children and unauthorized users, reading and understanding the gun’s owner’s manual, and following safe gun handling practices.
The gun lock’s key should be stored separately from the lock, and the device should be replaced if it’s plastic coating becomes damaged or separated from the steel cable or the lock face.
