Category: Uncategorized

By: Shanea Daniels
Director of Chapters and Membership
National African American Gun Association (NAAGA)

Each year, an estimated 200,000 firearms are stolen in the United States. For many of us who purchase firearms to safeguard our homes and families, the idea of our weapons falling into the wrong hands is alarming. While responsible gun owners often consider child safety, less thought is given to preventing theft, especially in everyday scenarios like visiting restricted locations or hosting guests.

Preventing guns from being stolen helps prevent crime in your community, as research shows the majority of guns used in crimes were previously stolen.  You can take direct steps to help make your home, family and community safer with this guide to protecting your firearms from theft and ensuring they always remain secure.

1. First and foremost, avoid storing your firearm in a vehicle’s glove box or center console. These areas are not secure — many can be unlocked with a universal key or even a simple screwdriver.
2. Although new firearms often come with cable locks, which certainly help prevent the gun from being used — especially by a young child — these are insufficient for preventing theft. Fortunately, various affordable and effective options are available, catering to all budgets and needs.
3. For versatile protection, consider these strategies:
   • Portable, Locked Cases: These are perfect for traveling and are often TSA-approved. They provide secure storage while allowing for mobility. Some models can be affixed to the frame of a car seat with a steel cable or bolted to home wall studs.
   • Locking Floating Shelves: These shelves blend seamlessly into home decor while offering quick access to firearms in high-traffic areas.
   • Furniture with Secret Compartments: Ideal for bedrooms, these pieces offer hidden locked storage that can be easily accessed in an emergency, especially with added lighting for nighttime use. Just note that a hidden gun is not secure gun, especially with children in the home – they like to explore, and will find the firearm.
   • Vehicle Console Safes: Customizable and secure, these safes lock with either a key or fingerprint, providing security for firearms in your car.
   • Heavy, Stand-Alone Safes: These safes are difficult to move and can store multiple firearms and ammunition, offering top-notch security within your home.

Firearm safety and personal protection should go hand-in-hand. New and experienced gun owners should take a close look at Project ChildSafe’s new “Gun Storage Check Module” for additional strategies and ideas for secure storage.  From there, research various options online, visit local gun shops and choose the options that best fit your lifestyle. By protecting your firearms effectively, you ensure they continue to protect you and your loved ones. Remember, securing your firearms is not just about safety—it’s about responsibility. Protect what protects you!

Shanea Daniels is the Director of Chapters and Membership for the National African American Gun Association (NAAGA) and serves as the Project Manager for the 2024 National Convention. Shortly after joining NAAGA, both Shanea and her husband became certified firearm instructors. To date, they have successfully trained over 200 families in gun safety. Originally from Philadelphia, PA, Shanea is deeply rooted in her roles as a wife, daughter, sister, mother of two and 2A (Second Amendment) advocate. She is an avid sports fan, cheering passionately for the Philadelphia Eagles.

 

In 2021, at least 5.4 million people purchased a firearm for the first time—and more than 33 percent of those new gun owners were women. This brought in over 1 million women to gun ownership last year.

It’s exciting to see so many women exercising their Second Amendment right to own a firearm, whether it’s for personal security or to enjoy some of the dozens of shooting sports available to them and to be part of the supportive firearm-owning community.

To welcome and celebrate these new women gun owners, we’ve gathered some of most recognized women in the shooting sports industry to share their insights as leaders for women in shooting sports and provide their best tips and advice on how to safely handle and secure their firearms. Read what they have to say about the role women and mothers can play in helping to ensure firearm safety in the home.

(When it comes to safety, everyone can use a refresher—seasoned owners should read on too!)

 

Barbara Baird, Women’s Outdoor News

“Women should ask themselves these questions when buying a firearm:

    How will I use it (leave at home, open carry, concealed carry)?

   How will I safely and securely store it?

   Do I need training?

Don’t bring home a gun and try to figure out the answers later. Have a plan in place and execute.”

 

 

Kia Glenn, National African American Gun Association

“You don’t need to be a gun expert or champion shooter to know the ins and outs of firearm safety. As you begin your journey of owning a firearm, do your research and equip yourself with information to achieve the goals you set for yourself. The firearm industry offers a wealth of resources from programs like Project ChildSafe, which make it easy to learn more. You can also join groups and associations full of individuals that have similar backgrounds and experiences to ensure you receive the proper firearms education and training.”

 

 

Kristy Titus, Pursue the Wild

“Choose firearm storage options that suit your individual needs. There is a plethora of options to securely store your firearm that best fit your, and your family’s, lifestyle. If you’re not sure where to start, check out this video I made explaining the different types of storage methods and how to use them.

 

 

 

 

Lexi Lagan, USA Shooting and US Olympian

“When it comes to safe firearm handling and training, practice doesn’t make perfect, but it does make improvement. Practice safe firearm handling daily to improve your skills. Take courses from certified instructors. Even if you think you have learned everything there is to know, classes help reinforce the critical basics of safe firearm handling. When you can handle firearms safely, training with your firearm becomes more comfortable and you will want to train more often, which leads to further improvement!”

 

 

 

Ashley Hlebinsky, The Gun Code

“Knowledge is the key to responsible firearms ownership. From researching how to safely handle your firearm, to relaying that information to the important people in your life and adding on training to build confidence, every step taken will help ensure safety in the home.

Also, know that you are not alone—you’re now part of a long history of women who have owned firearms. Feel empowered to continue that heritage and legacy into the future!”

 

 

 

Helen Moore, Armed Women of America

“Practice at least 10 minutes a day. Dry firing your firearm along with utilizing tools that ensure the firearm cannot be loaded to increase safety is a great way to improve your muscle memory skills, without having to go to a range. Practice gaining your sight picture, drawing from your holster and magazine changes to increase your understanding of your firearm.”

 

 

 

Orin Julie, Shooting Instructor, Content Creator and IPSC Shooter

“A first step into gun ownership is understanding and knowing the basic rules of gun safety. Build your foundation of safety with the following: keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire, treat every gun as if it were loaded, and know your target and what’s beyond it.”

 

 

 

 

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New and prospective gun owners can visit the Project ChildSafe resource library for additional safety information and educational materials, including downloadable resources. Parents can also find tailored resources for talking to kids about firearm safety, as well as teen mental health-specific information by visiting our Parents and Gun Owners page.

Name: Jack Logan

Organization: Founder of Put Down the Guns Now Young People

Why does your organization partner with Project ChildSafe?

Put Down the Guns Now Young People was formed in 2010 with a strong community commitment to firearm safety following a series of local firearm accidents. Prior to the accidents, I had never heard of a gun lock. However, the increased number of accidents across South Carolina sparked my passion to help spread firearm safety messages, resources and educational materials throughout my community in any way that I could.

Initially, we reached out to law enforcement agencies for locks. Through our local community outreach and efforts, we learned that many community members were unaware that locks were available for free through their local law enforcement agencies. Our organization was able to distribute the free gun locks and educational resources in the community in ways law enforcement agency partners couldn’t.

After some time, I reached out to Project ChildSafe directly to distribute firearm safety kits. After working together for about ten years, our group has distributed over 10,000 Project ChildSafe gun locks in South Carolina.

How does your organization distribute Project ChildSafe gun locks and safety materials in your community?

Put Down the Guns Now Young People distributes gun locks and firearm safety materials in a few ways:

• Hosting Gun Safety Events: We look for different ways to teach both children and parents about the importance of firearm safety. This includes hosting demonstrations with community members and giving away gun locks at church events. We have had great success generating media coverage of these events, further expanding the program’s reach.
  Distributing Locks: We frequently go door to door in communities, distributing gun locks and talking to parents and kids about how to use the locks. When we go out into the community, we teach people the importance of always practicing basic firearm safety. We remind parents that if they carry or have a firearm in the home, they need to keep it locked up when not in use. We also remind parents that even if their kids are only playing with toy guns, they should treat them as real guns and not point the guns at people.

Over the past ten years, since we started working with Project ChildSafe, we’ve found that firearm safety is an issue that reaches everyone – regardless of background, societal status or ethnicity. It’s such an important topic that everyone needs to be aware of and informed about. That’s a huge factor behind why we are involved in so many different outreach events – we will drive far and wide to any group or community that is interested in receiving information about safe firearm storage and ownership.

How has access to free gun locks and safety materials impacted your community?

Since we started Put Down the Guns Now Young People, we’ve distributed thousands of gun locks and educational materials in South Carolina and other communities across the country. We believe educating people about the importance of firearms safety and providing gun locks has helped to reduce the number of accidents in our communities.

Project ChildSafe’s wide range of resources (including resources for hunters, law enforcement agencies, parents and educators) have had a positive impact within my community. We have been able to share these resources with many different groups with differing needs, increasing the total number of people we have been able to reach and educate.

How can residents in your community and communities across the country become more involved in spreading the message of safety?

We encourage law enforcement agencies to use and share Project ChildSafe’s educational resources with their communities. It’s so important that parents understand the vital importance of firearm safety. Every parent that we educate about firearm safety, creates an opportunity for them to talk to and educate another parent.

If someone reading this wanted to start a similar gun safety effort in their community, what advice would you give them?

I would recommend they initially start with teaching children the importance of not touching a gun when adults are not around. If they want to take up target shooting or hunting, they must be taught how to properly and safely handle a gun under adult supervision. From there, it’s important to consider the role of organizations such as Project ChildSafe, which can offer gun locks and educational materials – all key items for anyone who is promoting gun safety in their community.

Name: Mark Wasylyshyn, Sheriff

Department: Wood County Ohio Sheriff’s Office

How does your agency distribute Project ChildSafe gun locks and safety materials in your community?

Project ChildSafe is very present in Wood County. We do our best to make firearms safety a key topic of conversation at our office and in the community. A few of the ways we engage with residents include:

Offering gun locks and materials to citizens when they apply for their concealed carry license.
Distributing locks and information to people at our county-wide employee picnic.
Sharing information and safety kits with attendees at our county fair.
Giving these items to graduates of our Citizen’s Police Academy for additional visibility.
Finally, making gun locks and safety materials available to citizens upon request throughout the year.
Citizens can also take advantage of additional resources from Project ChildSafe through its online Resource Library. In addition to resources for law enforcement agencies, we also promote materials available for parents (such as a video guiding parents on how to have a conversation about firearms safety with their children) and educators (such as lesson plans featuring McGruff the Crime Dog on how to talk to students about the importance of gun safety).

Why does your department partner with Project ChildSafe?

Project ChildSafe supplies us with the free gun locks, which saves our office from taking away valuable dollars from other pressing needs within the Sheriff’s Office. Project ChildSafe’s generosity allows us to give these locks away at no cost to gun owners within our community.

I recently learned that Project ChildSafe marked its 20th anniversary in 2019, having distributed more than 38 million free gun locks nationwide. We are thankful to partner with them and to be a part of a program that promotes the importance of firearms safety and safe storage in our community. I feel the impact that firearms safety education has on our community and know it is helped made possible through programs like Project ChildSafe.

How has access to free gun locks and safety materials impacted your community?

No one can measure the impact or number of lives saved from having a gun lock. Our goal is to help keep our community safe, and having a gun lock is one simple step firearms owners can take to help ensure the safety of their loved ones.

We understand that many individuals have tight budgets in our community and may not want to pay for gun locks or other safe storage devices. Project ChildSafe takes away excuses for not using gun locks and provides the materials and resources to practice responsible firearms ownership and safe storage.

How can residents in your community and communities across the country become more involved in spreading the message of safety?

Having people contact their friends and families about the importance of safety is priceless. The Sheriff’s Office is always putting out safety information to the public, but it is much more powerful when it comes directly from friends and family. Please share our messages, including those from Project ChildSafe, on social media to help spread the word about safety in our community. You can follow the Wood County Sheriff’s Office on Twitter, and Project ChildSafe on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Name: Deputy Chief Steven G. Xiarhos

Department: The Yarmouth Police Department

How does your agency distribute Project ChildSafe gun locks and safety materials in your community?

The Yarmouth Police Department has Project ChildSafe gun locks available 24/7 to members of our community at Police Headquarters.

In addition, we have Project ChildSafe gun locks available at all of our Community Policing Events including Firearm and Ammunition occasions. These events are designed to help citizens safely manage their firearms and ammunition, along with properly and legally turning in items that are no longer wanted.

Why does your department partner with Project ChildSafe?

The Yarmouth Police Department strongly believes in firearms safety education and prevention. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a variety of firearms safety laws which include the safe handling, securing and storage of firearms. Partnering with Project ChildSafe has allowed us to help keep our citizens and our children safer.

How has access to free gun locks and safety materials impacted your community?

Our mission is to transform Yarmouth into one of the safest communities in our region. The availability of free gun locks and safety materials is an important aspect of our strategic plan and objective as we move to 2020 and beyond.

How can residents in your community and communities across the country become more involved in spreading the message of safety?

Becoming fully educated and trained in how to properly use and safely secure firearms is critical. Modeling proper, safe behavior at all times sends a powerful message throughout our great community, Commonwealth and Country. In addition, Project ChildSafe has many great safety resources available through its website. Some of these resources include an infographic with different safe storage options, a firearms safety in vehicles brochure and the Project ChildSafe Child’s Pledge.

Hunting season is here, and Project ChildSafe wants to remind all hunters, new and experienced, to practice firearms safety with the annual Hunt S.A.F.E. campaign. The Hunt S.A.F.E. campaign acknowledges the rich tradition of hunting and underscores the importance of safe firearms handling and storage.

For many, hunting season comes with a heightened awareness of firearms safety. This year Project ChildSafe is proud to partner with Women’s Outdoor News to share their top safety tips for the season.

These tips, along with Project ChildSafe’s hunting resources, demonstrate proper hunting safety habits that can help prevent an accident that might result in serious injury or, at minimum, will almost certainly ruin your hunt.

We are excited to collaborate with women who are working hard to advocate for firearms safety and responsible firearms ownership across the nation.

Here are the top hunting safety tips from the hunting women of Women’s Outdoor News:

• • “Ask yourself important questions related to your hunt. Is my firearm compliant with the state’s wildlife agency’s rules for hunting this species? Is it working properly and sighted or patterned appropriately? Do I have the proper ammo and am I educated about what that ammo does at certain distances?” – Barbara Baird
  • “Regardless of what type of hunting you are doing, you should always know the condition of the firearm you are using. This includes knowing if it has a safety and ensuring it is engaged, especially if you are walking.” – Michelle Cerino
  • “Be sure to dress properly for the hunt. If you’ll be walking a lot, be sure your boots fit correctly and are made for the terrain. This helps prevent tripping when holding a firearm. It also gets really cold this time of year, so wearing warm enough clothes to safely handle your firearm is important.” – Ali Juten
  • “Don’t load the gun until you are ready to use it. Climbing into a tree stand can be hazardous on its own but adding a loaded firearm to the mix makes it even more dangerous. Accidents happen but can be easily be avoided if you practice proper safety procedures.” – Hollis Lumpkin
  • “Preparation makes you more confident in the field. Spend time shooting from different positions so that when the times comes, you can adapt and make the shot knowing you are ready and sure of yourself.” – Ashlee Lundvall
  • “Remember to wear eye protection!” – Lynne Green
  • “When hunting, carry a knife and two packs of matches. Also, as always, treat your gun like it is loaded even when you know it is not.” – Karen Butler

What are your top hunting safety tips? Join the conversation on Twitter and tag us @ProjChildSafe.

Project ChildSafe wants to promote S.A.F.E. hunting and remind outdoorsmen and women to Store your firearms responsibly when not in use; Always practice firearms safety; Focus on your responsibilities as a firearms owner; and Education is key to preventing accidents. For more tips to ensure a safe hunt, check out Project ChildSafe’s hunting checklist and toolkit and take our Hunt S.A.F.E. quiz!Hunting season is here, and Project ChildSafe wants to remind all hunters, new and experienced, to practice firearms safety with the annual Hunt S.A.F.E. campaign. The Hunt S.A.F.E. campaign acknowledges the rich tradition of hunting and underscores the importance of safe firearms handling and storage.