The Be SMART Gun Safety Initiative in is aiming to keep guns out of the hands of children who might harm themselves or others. The program is giving free gun locks to Louisiana gun owners who have children in their homes as part of a larger nationwide initiative. Orleans and Jefferson Parish residents are eligible to receive the locks (which are limited to one per household for this giveaway) and those who are interested in purchasing one of the smart locks for their own home can do so at a discounted rate of 25% as well. Gun safety and gun awareness are important issues when it comes to keeping young ones safe, particularly in regions like Louisiana where gun ownership is so prevalent.
With the recent tragedy in the New Orleans area of a toddler accidentally shooting himself, the issue is at the forefront of many people’s minds and ease of access to household firearms is a growing concern. The number of children and teens killed by gunfire in the US has risen in recent years, with unintentional injury or death being among the worrying statistics on the rise. One of the best ways you can ensure that your firearm isn’t mishandled is to have it safely stored and locked away. The Be SMART program encourages parents and adults alike to Secure all guns in their homes and vehicles, Model responsible behavior around guns so that young ones can follow those examples, Ask about the presence of unsecured guns in other homes, Recognize the role of guns in suicide, and Tell your peers to ‘Be SMART’.
The gun safe systems being given away have built-in biometric safety measures to ensure that the weapons inside stay out of the hands of children, by ensuring that only the fingerprint of the adult gun owner will open the safe. In Louisiana (and across the United States), guns are the leading cause of death for those under 18 years old. Across the country, 4.6 million children live in homes with at least one gun. Every single year in the US, roughly 350 children gain access to one of those firearms and unintentionally shoot either themselves or someone else in their home. Many of those accidents prove fatal, and more than 700 children also die by suicide with a gun each year.
The initiative is in partnership with Children's Hospital and those interested in applying for one of the safe systems can find more details on their website.