December 18, 2019

Duckworth, Durbin Join Colleagues to Introduce the Safe Gun Storage Act

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and 17 other colleagues in introducing the Safe Gun Storage Act, which would direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to establish safety standards for firearm locks and firearm safes. U.S. Representatives Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives earlier this year.

“Passing public safety measures to save lives isn’t tyranny, it’s common sense and this bill would help make sure that firearms are stored securely so families across America are kept safe,” said Duckworth. “We owe it to the countless and growing number of firearm violence victims to take action and I call on Mitch McConnell to let us vote on this and other similar, smart pieces of legislation so we can take action that could prevent future tragedies.”

“Far too many lives have been lost to gun violence because children or unauthorized individuals gained access to a firearm that should have been securely stored. With commonsense safety measures for safely locking up firearms, we can further prevent guns from ending up in the wrong hands,” said Durbin. “I’m a proud cosponsor of the Safe Gun Storage Act because it’s our responsibility in Congress to address our nation’s gun violence epidemic and legislate to keep our communities safe.”

An estimated 4.6 million American minors live in a household with a firearm. According to a 2018 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health survey, 54 percent of firearm owners report storing their firearms in an unsafe manner. Eighteen percent of all firearm injuries in our nation occur because of this high rate of improperly stored firearms in homes.

Along with Duckworth, Durbin and Blumenthal, the Safe Gun Storage Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Bob Casey (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chris Coons (D-DE), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Tom Udall (D-NM), Patty Murray (D-WA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

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