In King County, there are about 340,000 people (22% of adults) with a firearm stored in or around their homes. About 43% of these firearm owners (150,000 people) reported storing their guns unlocked. Safe storage is a simple, secure means to preventing children from finding and using a gun, preventing suicide, stopping gun theft, and keeping guns out of schools.
King County Public Health’s Lock It Up program helps raise awareness among gun owners about the reasons to choose to store your firearms in a locked box or with another safe storage device. (The Lock It Up program has been in existence for decades and is a public safety program, separate from the recent King County safe storage ordinance and Seattle ordinance and statewide initiative.)
Lock It Up provides information for firearm owners on storage devices and discounts on safe storage devices at partner retailers.
When your firearm is not on you, choose to lock it up.
Visit LockItUp.org to find information and discounts on storage devices that keep your firearms safe, secure, and ready.
Stats:
- In Washington State in 2015, suicides made up 75% of firearm deaths.
- Nationally, 82% of youth who died by firearm suicide used a gun owned by a family member.
- 39% of parents who thought their children did not know the storage location of household guns were wrong—their children self-reported knowing where the guns were.
- Children younger than 10 years were as likely as older children to report knowing the storage location and to report having handled a household gun.
Why You Should Lock Your Firearms
When your gun is not on you, it can be taken and misused.
Keep it locked up to:
- Prevent your gun from being stolen.
- Prevent children from finding and using your gun.
- Prevent people from dying by suicide in a moment of crisis.
Prevent guns from going to school.
Choose to Lock It Up:
- Locking a firearm is simple.
Safe storage devices don’t have to be expensive or complicated, and they are widely available in stores and online.
You can get discounts on storage at select retailers by mentioning Lock It Up, and there’s no sales tax on storage devices.
- A locked firearm is secure.
You can make it very difficult or impossible for a burglar to take your gun. Bolted or cabled car safes act as a deterrent for quick smash and grab break ins.
- A locked firearm is ready.
You can open a lockbox or other storage device very quickly in an emergency. Many combination safes can be opened in under 5 seconds.