NSSF, LOCAL LEADERS RENEW EFFORTS TO PROMOTE FIREARMS SAFETY FOR 2018
New partners join regional effort in “Aiming for Zero” firearms accidents
OKLAHOMA CITY – The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance and a growing list of local partners, today marked the one-year anniversary of Project ChildSafe Oklahoma City by renewing their commitment to make firearms safety for children a priority throughout the community in 2018.
“The goal of Project ChildSafe Oklahoma City remains ‘Aiming for Zero’ firearms accidents and working together on efforts that will help stop firearms thefts and misuse,” said NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti. “We’re one year in and we’ve accomplished a lot, but we’re really only just getting started.”
Since its launch at the State Capitol last year, Project ChildSafe Oklahoma City has distributed more than 4,500 firearm locks and safety kits containing educational materials throughout the region. NSSF and the Project ChildSafe program have committed to making thousands of additional locks and other safety resources available across the city in 2018. The goal of Project ChildSafe is to remind gun owners that securely storing firearms when not in use is the number one way to help prevent firearms accidents, thefts and misuse.
Distribution of those locks and materials is made possible through partnerships between the Oklahoma City Police Department and Fire Department, along with the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, and local organizations including Hall & Hall Consulting, the Oklahoma City Gun Club, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the National Wild Turkey Foundation.
Overall, more than 20 local organizations have committed to share educational resources and information on firearms safety through Project ChildSafe Oklahoma City. In the past few months several new partners, including the Oklahoma Indian Health Service, the Latino Community Development Agency and Pheasants/Quail Forever have joined the program in order to expand its reach to new audiences.
“We are thrilled to be supporting the efforts of Project ChildSafe as we aim for zero firearms accidents. We are eager to work together to promote firearms safety all around Oklahoma and within the American Indian communities,” Oklahoma Area Indian Health Service Injury Prevention Specialist said.
Those efforts will be complemented by plans for a region-wide student essay contest, community events, and a new public service announcement developed in partnership with KFOR TV Channel 4.
“We’re very privileged to be working with such a dedicated group of supporters and partners who share our commitment to this cause,” Sanetti said. “We look forward to reaching farther into the community and promoting smart habits that will help keep guns safely stored away from children, at-risk individuals and criminals.”
Project ChildSafe Communities is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). BJA awarded this grant to help promote additional firearms safety efforts on a national level through the creation of “Project ChildSafe Communities” in key cities around the country. Project ChildSafe Communities also launched in Memphis, Tenn., last October, and will kick off in Cleveland, Ohio, early this year.
Through partnerships with more than 15,000 local law enforcement agencies and more than 3,400 organizational supporters, NSSF’s Project ChildSafe program has distributed more than 37 million free firearm safety kits—which include a free gun lock— and has helped educate firearms owners on the importance of gun safety in communities across all 50 states and the U.S. territories.
For more information on Project ChildSafe Communities and how to get involved, visit projectchildsafe.org.
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This project was supported by Grant No. 2015-FG-BX-K001 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.