Shooting sports advocates and law enforcement officials met in Kalispell today to tell gun owners it’s their responsibility to keep their guns properly stored to keep kids and others in their community safe.
Law enforcement groups in the Flathead Valley announced a new partnership with Project ChildSafe, which promotes gun safety by educating owners about proper firearm storage and distributing gun locks.
"We quite often go into residences for different reasons and we'll find firearms in places where they should not be, not secured, loaded, in atmosphere where children are present."
This is Kalispell Chief of Police Roger Nassett.
"Quite often obviously we respond to situations where people are accidentally shot."
Though Project ChildSafe is geared toward protecting children from accidental shooting deaths, there’s hope in Montana that these same gun safety measures can address Montana’s high rate of death by suicide.
From 2011 to 2013, 75 percent of youth suicides in Montana were accomplished using guns, and Montana’s youth suicide rate is twice the national average, according to the state health department. Guns account for more than 90 percent of adult suicides. The state health department’s suicide prevention plan recommends safe gun storage and gun locks.
Most new guns come with locks, but the state currently doesn’t mandate their use.
Free gun locks and safety kits are available at 33 law enforcement agencies in Montana that have partnered with Project ChildSafe, including the Kalispell Police Department and Flathead County Sheriff's Office.
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