For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 18, 2024
From the Offices of Council Vice President Kate Stewart and Councilmember Kristin Mink
The resolution, introduced by Council Vice President Stewart and Councilmember Mink, calls for increased public education on secure storage of firearms
ROCKVILLE, Md., June 18, 2024 — Today Montgomery County Council Vice President Kate Stewart and Councilmember Kristin Mink introduced a resolution that aims to reduce gun violence and gun deaths in Montgomery County by increasing education efforts on secure storage of firearms. The legislation is co-sponsored by all other Councilmembers.
“Heartbreaking gun violence continues to take the lives of people in our community,” said Council Vice President Stewart. “Providing information on how to safely store guns is one way we can better safeguard Montgomery County. Just weeks ago, a three-year-old girl accidentally shot herself at home. By working with our county departments and community organizations to disseminate information, our goal is to move closer to ending gun violence in Montgomery County.”
“There is no defensible reason for the appalling level of gun violence in this country,” said Councilmember Mink. “While the federal government holds the greatest power to implement sweeping changes, our state legislature has taken significant actions to protect children and communities in Maryland. At the County level, increasing public education of best practices and legal requirements for secure gun storage is a highly effective and critical tool at our disposal.”
Every year, roughly 360 children under 18 unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else in the U.S., with 70 percent of incidents happening inside a home. Another 1,300 children and teens die by gun suicide each year, most often using guns belonging to a family member.
In three out of every four school shootings, the shooter acquired their firearm from the home of a parent or close relative. Most active shooter incidents in schools – 75 percent – are carried out by current students or recent graduates.
“When guns aren’t properly stored, tragedy can strike – whether it’s a child finding a firearm and injuring or killing themselves, or someone stealing it and using it to commit crime. Secure gun storage can prevent both,” said Joanna Pearl, a co-lead for the Montgomery County Chapter of Moms Demand Action.
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Research shows that secure firearm storage is an essential component to any effective strategy to keep schools, students, families and communities safe. Secure firearm storage practices are associated with an 85 percent reduction in the risk of unintentional firearm injuries among children when compared to those that locked both firearms and ammunition and those that did not.
If approved by the Council, the resolution would affirm its ongoing commitment to keep Montgomery County residents, and children in particular, safe from gun violence and gun deaths. The resolution includes public education initiatives, including calling on County agencies to increase efforts to inform parents of best practices for secure storage of firearms in the home, and collaborating with schools and childcare facilities to disseminate this information to families.
The resolution would also require providers who receive County funding to disseminate educational information to parents of children in the programs about secure gun storage practices.
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Release ID: 24-232
Media Contact: Cecily Thorne 301-910-0610, Chris Wilhelm 301-706-7843
Categories: Kate Stewart , Kristin Mink
For updates and link to press release, see here: http://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=45418