Have firearms and want to store them safely away from kids? Here’s what to know
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Halfway through the 2021-22 school year, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have already seen a record number of guns found on campuses, a Charlotte Observer investigation found, raising questions about firearms safety for families.
There are ways to keep guns away from children when you have firearms in your home and ways to encourage safety even when you don’t own a firearm, experts say.
Here’s how to practice gun safety around your children, according to public safety officials, pediatric health experts and firearms groups.
Why is gun safety important?
Having guns in the home can pose safety risks, especially to kids, data shows.
“Gun injuries are the second-leading cause of death among U.S. children and teens,” according to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Center for Violence Prevention, and 85% of kids ages 0-12 whose deaths are gun-related “are killed in their own home.”
“The vast majority of accidental firearm deaths among children are related to child access to firearms — either self-inflicted or at the hands of another child,” CHOP says.
Gun safety tips for parents
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police offers many gun safety tips for parents, whether they keep firearms in the home or not. CMPD’s recommendations for parents and guardians include:
Teaching kids to “never touch a gun” and “immediately tell an adult if they find one”
Teaching kids about the difference between toy guns and real guns
Encouraging kids to watch and play nonviolent TV shows, movies and video games
Finding out if there’s a gun in the home before your child visits a friend’s house
Project ChildSafe, a program by the firearms trade association the National Shooting Sports Foundation, offers additional recommendations for parents and guardians:
Storing guns unloaded and in locked cabinets, safes or gun cabinets
Making sure your storage location is “inaccessible to children”
Using a gun locking device to “render firearms inoperable”
Locking up ammunition in a separate location from firearms
Talking to children about their mental health
Gun safety tips for kids
Nemours Children’s Health, a national network of pediatric health groups, also offers specific recommendations about gun safety for kids such as:
Never getting out a gun “unless a parent or another responsible adult is with you”
Leaving the area and telling an adult immediately or calling 911 if you see a gun
Always assuming a gun is loaded and never point a gun at someone, even if it is unloaded
How to safely store a gun
For families that do have a firearm in the home, safe gun storage is essential to keeping kids safe, experts agree. Project ChildSafe has multiple guidelines for how to safely store guns:
Store a gun unloaded, and double-check that it is unloaded when you take it out of storage
Store guns in locked safes, cabinets, vaults or cases, and put them in locations that are “inaccessible to children”
Use gun locking devices to “render firearms inoperable”
Store the parts of disassembled guns in different locations
Store ammunition in a separate location from firearms
Nemours adds that parents and guardians should keep the key or passcode to their gun storage hidden from kids.
For more details on what’s required in North Carolina, read the state’s “safe storage” law, which explains that
Gun safety courses
For those who want to learn even more about gun safety, there are various ways to get training.
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission offers free hunter education courses that include firearms safety training.
Firearms academies also offer instruction. Many businesses offer courses tailored to specific topics, including safety training for kids.
Organizations such as Project ChildSafe also offer online workshops, webinars and tip sheets.
Where to find gun safety supplies
There are also various options for getting the supplies needed to safely store guns, including locked cases and gun locks.
Cases, safes and other safety devices can be bought from many major retailers, such as Lowe’s and Academy Sports. Items can range in price from less than $100 to several dollars, depending on the size and features.
Project ChildSafe partners with local law enforcement agencies, including in North Carolina, to provide free “safety kits” that include locking devices.
