This is a guest post from Andrew Jerrard representing the Top Gun Safe Review website. Before we start with Andrew’s post I want to share a list of current gun safe related bills:
We’ve also dealt with second amendment issues before in our contrarian series and with another guest post infographic. And now, Andrew:
State gun safe storage laws
In accordance to the Department of justice survey, 1996, between 35 to 40% of American residents have firearms at their home. Surprisingly, about 1/3rd that counts roughly 20 million guns–were loaded and not stored in a secure place! Such carelessness increased the risk of unintentional gun injuries and unintentional shootings to some significant level. On the basis of a research held on 1999, over 75% of the guns used in teen’s suicide attempts and accidental injuries were improperly stored either in their own residence, or at their relative’s, or at their friend’s. It was also found that the chance of suicide increased greatly in the homes where loaded firearms were not stored at the safe place.
The state gun storage laws primarily focus on the safe storage of guns for saving the lives of children due to suicide attempts and unintentional shootings. It has been over 25 years since when a number of state laws have been passed to constrain the gun owners legally responsible for the accidental injuries caused due to unmonitored access of guns by a child. Interestingly, the effect of these state laws on firearm-related injuries is not known, and these state laws are still contentious.
One of the important state gun storage laws includes the storage of firearms in a locking device, most preferably inside guns safes. This won’t allow the access of firearms to children preventing any possible deaths or injuries. In addition, storing firearms may also restrain the firearms from being stolen. Gun trafficking is one of the dangerous acts due to burglary of firearms from homes. So, it’s highly recommended that you buy a gun safe, meeting your requirements, to securely store your firearms.
State gun safe storage laws are of various forms–from strongest laws to the weakest laws. The strongest laws make the gun owners criminally liable if a youth gets access to a poorly stored firearm. On the other hand, the weakest law restricts direct handing of a firearm to a child. Between these extremities–the strongest laws and the weakest laws–there are several other forms of laws. One of these laws also include the imposition of illegal liability for poorly kept firearms if and only if the child uses the firearm and results death or other sever injuries. Similarly, gun owners owe penalties to the state if they are found giving gun access to a child, intentionally.
Increasing death rates due to improper storage of firearms has given rise to these state gun storage laws. As a human, it’s out responsibility to follow these laws with full respect. Proper storage of guns will not only reduce the unintentional deaths and injuries, but will also help discourage serious crimes like gun trafficking. Thus, it’s a wise decision for all of us if we buy a gun safe with no delay.
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