MAYOR-PRESIDENT SHARON WESTON BROOME, NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATION AND LOCAL LEADERS JOIN TO LAUNCH “PROJECT CHILDSAFE BATON ROUGE”: COMMUNITY EFFORT FOCUSES ON PREVENTING FIREARMS ACCIDENTS, THEFTS AND MISUSE
BATON ROUGE, LA. – Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), local officials, community organizations and law enforcement today joined together to launch “Project ChildSafe Baton Rouge,” a city-wide initiative to help prevent firearms accidents and thefts by encouraging all gun owners to store their firearms responsibly.
Central to the effort are the thousands of free firearm safety kits, which include a gun lock, provided by NSSF’s Project ChildSafe program. Locks and educational materials will be available from the Baton Rouge Police Department and at several community centers and church locations throughout the city.
“It’s heartening to see how many of our community leaders and organizations have united here today in support of this program, and I appreciate the National Shooting Sports Foundation partnering with my office to bring this program to life,” Mayor-President Broome said. “I know I speak for all of Baton Rouge when I say we look forward to spreading the message of firearms safety by working together as a community.”
Today’s launch event kicks off what organizers hope will be a city-wide and sustained effort over the next year. In addition to the gun locks, NSSF’s Project ChildSafe program is also providing a library of resources on a number of gun safety topics, including secure storage options, safe storage and suicide prevention and how to have “the talk” about firearms safety with children.
The initiative is also partnering with several local organizations from the faith community, mental health and suicide prevention advocates, veterans, retailers and hunting and shooting groups to help share messages and information about responsible firearms storage.
“We’re doing this together because securely storing firearms when not in use works – it’s a real solution for safer communities,” said Bill Brassard, NSSF’s Senior Director, Communications. “In recent years, fatal firearms accidents have dropped to historic lows. That’s a trend we would like to see continue in the right direction, and that starts with emphasizing that hiding your gun is not the same as securely storing your firearm.”
In addition to Mayor-President Broome, the Baton Rouge Police Department, East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar C. Moore III, US Attorney Brandon Fremin and NSSF, local stakeholders and organizations involved in the effort include Fathers on A Mission, East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, East and West Feliciana Parish District Attorney Samuel C. D’Aquilla, Firearms Range & Clothing, Councilman Lamont Cole and the Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. Community Center, Councilman Tae Welch and the Chaneyville Community Center, Councilwoman Erika L. Green and the Charles R. Kelly Community Center, Family and Youth Service Center, Beacon Light Church, Oasis Christian Church, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Boy Scouts of America, A Girl & A Gun Women’s Shooting League, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Gun locks will be available for pickup – no questions asked – from the following locations:
BRPD 1st District
4445 Plank Rd.
Baton Rouge, LA 70805
225-389-3866
BRPD 2nd District
2265 Highland Rd.
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
225-389-3863
BRPD 3rd District
9000 Airline Hwy.
Baton Rouge, LA 70815
225-389-5247
BRPD 4th District
8227 Scenic Hwy.
Baton Rouge, LA 70807
225-389-3033
BRPD 5th District
201 North 3rd St.
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
225-389-3854
Chaneyville Community Center
13211 Jackson Road
Zachary, LA 70791
225-654-3309
Beacon Light Baptist Church
7513 Prescott Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70812
225-358-9071
MLK Community Center
4000 Gus Young Avenue
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
225-389-7804
Charles R. Kelly Community Center
3535 Riley Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70805
225-389-5464
Family and Youth Service Center
1120 Government Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
225-239-7801
Firearms Range & Clothing
9378 S. Choctaw Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70815
225-926-2550
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About Project ChildSafe: NSSF, the trade association of the firearms industry, launched Project ChildSafe in 1999. Since then it has provided more than 38 million free firearm safety kits and gun locks to firearm owners in all 50 states through partnerships with thousands of law enforcement agencies. That’s in addition to the more than 70 million free locking devices manufacturers have included, and continue to include, with new firearms sold since 1998. While helping to prevent accidents among children is a focus, Project ChildSafe is intended to help adults practice greater firearm safety in the home. More information is available at projectchildsafe.org.
About NSSF: The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit www.nssf.org.