Safe storage of guns saves lives
By Susan Bender
At annual conference in October, the Baltimore-Washington Conference passed a resolution declaring gun violence a public health emergency within our conference. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 2,300 children ages 0-17 were killed by guns in 2020, outpacing the number of child deaths due to car crashes (2,231), cancer (1,461), and COVID-19 (141).
Last year on Christmas Day in Charles County, a 13-year old girl accidentally shot and killed her 17-year old relative with an unsecured gun. A tragedy for sure, but it was also preventable. More than 5.4 million children in America live in homes with guns that are both loaded and unlocked. An unsecured gun in the family home was also the weapon used by a St. Mary’s County 17-year old to kill his ex-girlfriend in their high school hallway in 2018. An unsecured gun in the family home was also the weapon used in the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting and the more recent Oxford, Michigan high school shooting. Unsecured firearms in the home are also used in suicides. The U.S. suicide rate by firearm among 10-17 year olds has risen 62% over the past decade. By safely securing their firearms, gun owners can help prevent these deaths.
To prevent access, firearm storage should include three methods employed in combination - unload the ammunition, lock the firearm, and store the firearm and ammunition in separate locations. Learn more at:
The BWC Gun Violence Prevention Team is offering a webinar on safe storage and suicide prevention on Feb. 8. Learn more and register.
A second webinar on stopping the shooting on our streets and on ghost guns will be held Feb. 15. Learn more and register.
When people unfortunately wish to commit suicide, they will find a way guns or not. My legal firearms are intended for house protection and that of MY family. I am trained in their use and am rather accurate should I need to use them. Considering BLM destruction of (mainly) black businesses, the rampant crime in this area (with illegal guns or stolen guns) and the stand down/defunding of police, your article is a non sequitur from my view. Unloading and storing firearms in a place where one cannot get them, there is no self protection.