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Through the NATL Gun Safety Consortium, leaders in the public sector are combining their purchasing power, research and expertise to promote gun safety and tackle the problem of unsecured guns in America.
WHY?
Because a problem as vast and complex as gun-related violence demands multiple approaches, not just legislation. And because we’ve identified one possible solution that cities, counties and states can help advance—with the right partners.
Unsecured guns are among our top health and safety hazards. Fewer than half of the nation’s gun owners consistently secure their firearms, according to researchers. The consequences are deadly:
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Every day in America, an estimated 1,000 guns are stolen from homes, vehicles, or businesses -- and most of these guns enter trafficking pipelines. Stolen guns are frequently used in violent crimes, sometimes multiple crimes.
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Every day in America, unsecured guns are accessed by unauthorized users, often children, and used in suicides or accidental shootings.
Many of these crimes and deaths are preventable, and it’s the duty of law enforcement and public officials to develop strategies and take action to prevent them.
How?
One way of preventing these tragedies is to promote the development, distribution and use of gun security products that gun owners will actually use, day in and day out. One reason many gun owners cite for not securing their weapons is that conventional gun locks and safes are seen as too slow or unwieldy to unlock in an emergency. In an era of technological innovation, this is not an unsolvable problem!
Startup companies have brought a host of promising gun security and safety products to market in recent years. The Consortium is currently evaluating four of them -- Vara Safety’s Reach 2, Identilock, Gun Guardian, and T-Lock. Law enforcement officers and firearms experts from 10 cities and counties in 6 states are conducting hands-on evaluation and sharing their findings with Consortium members and with the product developers.
We challenge other innovators in the private sector to step forward with solutions.
We challenge the gun industry, including Glock, SIG Sauer, and the other manufacturers of the guns we purchase for our police officers: put your product engineers to work developing safety innovations. We challenge investors: put money into the rigorous testing and refinement needed to get proven products to a mass market. We challenge gun retailers: give these life-saving products shelf space alongside the guns and ammunition you sell in ever-growing numbers.
We pledge to do our part: As new gun safety and security prototypes are developed, and as products reach the market, we will evaluate them. If a product developer seeks feedback on a promising product, we will provide it. If we identify products that can protect our law enforcement officers and their families, we will buy them. And if we find that there are new types of products that can help gun owners secure their weapons, we will promote their development and use.
3,600
children killed by guns in 2021
24,000
suicides by firearm in 2022
380k
guns stolen annually
YES, THERE IS COMMON GROUND ON GUNS.
The leaders of the Gun Safety Consortium, like the people we represent, don’t agree on everything when it comes to guns. On this we do agree:
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380,000 guns stolen from homes, vehicles and businesses each year is TOO MANY.
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50% of gun owners leaving their guns unsecured is TOO MANY.
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20,000 suicides each year using firearms is TOO MANY.
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200 accidental shootings by children each year is TOO MANY.
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ANY reductions we can achieve in these numbers are worth the effort.
No gun owner wants any of these things to happen with their firearm.
Significant reductions in these numbers are possible, within just a few years, if we focus and act on these common interests.
But… BECAUSE THE SUBJECT IS GUNS IN AMERICA, THERE WILL BE SOME MISUNDERSTANDINGS.