Representative Christian Menefee (D-TX) is leading the charge on promoting responsible firearm storage with a new bill that would prevent gun-related tragedies through education, awareness and access to safe storage devices.
Last week, Reps. Menefee and Madeleine Dean (PA-D) introduced the Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act, named in honor of one of the 10 lives lost during a 2018 mass shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, caused by a student bringing his parents’ unsecured firearm to school.
The legislation would require licensed firearm sellers to provide safe storage devices and information with every sale. It also pushes the Department of Justice to promote safe storage best practices, create grants and establish a federal tax credit to expand gun owners’ access to storage devices.
“Safe firearm storage is one of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent gun violence, suicides, accidental shootings and to keep stolen weapons from ending up in the wrong hands,” Rep. Menefee said.
According to Mark Collins, the director of federal policy at Brady United, over 73% of children between five and 14 know where their parents store their firearms, with over a third handling those weapons without their parents’ knowledge.
“Over 90% of guns used in accidental shootings of children that resulted in death were left unsecured,” Collins said.
Rep. Menefee added that over seven million children in the United States live in a home with a loaded and unlocked firearm.
“And every year, kids are killed or injured because guns are within arm's reach,” he said.
Rep. Dean said the lack of safe storage measures poses a serious risk to communities, especially children. As Congress has a responsibility to protect public safety, this bill is an important step toward that goal, she said.
“As lawmakers, we have a responsibility to keep our communities, especially our kids, safe — yet the leading cause of death for minors in the U.S. is gun violence,” Rep. Dean said. “Unsafe storage and unsupervised firearm use is an enormous danger to our children and teens.”
By encouraging and expanding access to responsible firearm storage, Rep. Menefee said this bill can help ensure future mass shootings cannot continue claiming innocent lives.
“Kimberly and her classmates should have come home that day,” Rep. Menefee said. “This bill is about making sure that every single kid does.”
