What: This Saturday, June 24, Seattle Children’s is partnering with Providence Health and Services, Safe Kids Thurston County, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, Thurston Gun Sense, Lok-It-Up and Cabela’s in Lacey to giveaway 350 FREE lock boxes and 50 FREE trigger locks to encourage safe firearm storage in homes. The giveaway will take place at Cabela’s in Lacey (see address below). Supplies are limited and it’s first come, first served. Must be 18 or older and No ID is required to receive an item. One item per person, 2 per household.
This event follows 11 previous safe firearm storage events that Seattle Children’s has hosted throughout Washington state in collaboration with several community partners since December 2014. To date, nearly 3,500 safe firearm storage devices have been given away at these events.
Why: Seattle Children’s and it’s partners hope that by raising awareness about the importance and effectiveness of safe firearm storage in the home, and by giving parents the tools to safely store their firearms, we can help prevent firearm-related incidents and suicide among children and teens. According to the Dept. of Health, nearly 40 percent of Washington households have a firearm present. While we know storing firearms locked and unloaded, with ammunition locked separately, can greatly reduce the risk of injuries and deaths involving children and teens, one in six (35%) homes with children living in them have guns stored loaded and unlocked.
By providing the tools to safely store firearms in the home, we hope to reduce this risk factor and help prevent firearm-related injuries and deaths.
