Industry and Gun Owners Can Champion Gun Safety Together

 

By Keri McIntosh

 

The last thing any manufacturer — or retailer of any product — ever wants to see is their product being misused or somehow ending up in the wrong hands. That’s why Davidson’s Inc. has joined so many other members of the firearms industry in supporting NSSF®’s Project ChildSafe® program, and why we encourage everyone to participate in Gun Storage Check Week®, happening right now, June 1–7.

We’ve been proud partners of Project ChildSafe for half a decade, largely because this industry-created program directly matches our company principles related to safety, security and responsibility. It’s a meaningful way to contribute to firearms safety and the well-being of communities across the U.S.

It’s a real privilege to be part of an organization that has distributed more than 42 million free gun locks all across the country. We believe if the proper tools are given to consumers upon the purchase of their firearm, they can immediately take their purchase home and store their firearm securely. Considering that any single one of those locks could help prevent an accident or tragedy or even save a life — how could we not want to be a part of it?

That’s where we also want to offer some kudos to our fellow industry members. When government grants for Project ChildSafe ran out in the early 2000s, it was the members of this industry that stepped up to continue funding the program.

Going forward, however, I do think our industry can (and in many cases does) go beyond providing funding. We can do even more to be the voice of genuine firearm safety. We can do even more to encourage all gun owners to take the steps that keep guns out of the hands of criminals, make our homes, neighborhoods and communities safer, help prevent accidents and even play an important role in preventing suicide — one of the leading causes of death for the veterans who have served our country, and for the young people who are its future.

That starts with the sharing the tenets of Gun Storage Check Week. Davidon’s is committed to joining with NSSF and Project ChildSafe to remind all gun owners to “Make Sure It’s Secure.®” Right here and now, I encourage every gun owner out there to take a moment and:

• Verify your firearms are securely stored, unloaded and separate from ammo.
• Think about your current gun storage system in the context of how your living or family situation may have changed in the past year, or whether someone in your home might be at risk of a mental health crisis. If you’re looking for guidance, walk through Project ChildSafe’s Gun Storage Check Module.
• Take the steps to upgrade your storage system to ensure no one can access your firearms without your authorization. You can find great suggestions on gun storage options for your lifestyle here.

Finally, I also want to put the challenge out to my fellow members of the firearms wholesale and retail industry, along with the manufacturers, to help increase the visibility of Gun Storage Check Week by downloading the Promotional Toolkit from NSSF and putting these tools to work.

At Davidson’s we know we’re not alone in championing firearm safety and secure storage. We’re proud to be part of an industry that works hard to educate gun owners everywhere on what they can do to help prevent accidents, thefts or misuse. Let’s all raise the noise level on this — together.

 

Keri McIntosh is the Director of Operations at Davidson’s Inc. and Davidson’s Gallery of Guns.