Doctor's For Sensible Gun Laws Trigger Locks & Mandatory Storage Laws by Jeremy D. Blanks, Ph.D. Click your mouse or use Page Down to advance each stage of this presentation

Doctor's For Sensible Gun Laws Proposals and Positions from Gun Control Groups and Politicians Force the sale of a trigger lock with all firearms Require that all current firearm owners purchase a trigger lock Mandatory storage laws that demand a firearm be locked away and inaccessible regardless of personal situation Perform inspections and unwarranted searches of individual homes to insure that firearms are properly stored Concerns over storage laws preventing people from accessing a firearm for self-defense are irrelevant, since most gun control supporters and politicians like Bill Clinton and Al Gore do not believe law-abiding citizens have a right to self- defense against murderers, rapists, and other violent felons

Doctor's For Sensible Gun Laws A Few Facts About Trigger Locks and Guns Today, essentially all firearms sold have trigger locks with them - as has been the case for many years Responsible storage is already a part of the safety approach of greater than 99% of gun owners Accidents are at an all time low due directly to educational programs, such as the Eddie Eagle program from the National Rifle Association Even though the number of firearms has quadrupled since 1930, the number of firearm accidents has declined by 62%

Doctor's For Sensible Gun Laws More Facts About Trigger Locks and Guns Firearms are only involved in just over 1 % of accidental fatalities, whereas motor vehicles are responsible for 47 %, falls for 15 %, poisons for 10 %, drowning for 4 %, fire for 3 %, suffocation of an ingested object for 3 %, and even the category “other” has a higher level than firearms It is dangerous to store a loaded firearm with a trigger lock on it, since such a lock could cause the firearm to discharge as has happened numerous times Trigger locks can create a false sense of security, due to the reliance on a lock instead of following established safety guidelines

Doctor's For Sensible Gun Laws Do Trigger Lock Laws Save Lives? There is no evidence which shows that trigger lock laws save lives Responsible gun owners already follow established safety guidelines as shown by the fact that firearm accidents are at an all time low Irresponsible people and criminals will not magically use trigger locks due to the passage of a law To force responsible gun owners to use a trigger lock, even though they have secured their firearm by other means, will put the individual at a disadvantage if the firearm is needed and a lock must be removed prior to use Trigger locks and similar devices have failed and in turn caused accidents and loss of life

Doctor's For Sensible Gun Laws Trigger Lock Comparison to Child Resistant Safety Caps on Medicine Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and many others have compared gun locks to safety caps on medicine Such a comparison is fairly accurate and the results would be similar Research by Harvard’s Prof. Kip Viscusi has shown that child resistant caps have caused an increase in accidental poisonings People have become more careless with their medicines, since they began to rely on child resistant caps for protection instead of using their basic common sense A similar situation would develop with gun locks The fact is that no cap is truly resistant - they can all be defeated The same can be said for trigger locks

Doctor's For Sensible Gun Laws What Would Be the Results of a Mandatory Storage Law? Compliance with storage laws is not likely since inherently irresponsible people will not obey such a law Enforcement of storage laws would lead to abuses of civil liberties Unwarranted searches of individual homes would be required to confirm compliance with storage laws A “one size fits all” law cannot possibly meet the needs or properly address the situations of all gun owners - people would be put at risk Such mandatory storage laws would handicap a person who needs a gun for self-defense against a murderer, rapist, or other violent felon Today, millions of crimes are prevented every year by law-abiding citizens - mandatory storage laws would hinder self-defense and cost lives Such laws have been called “criminal protection acts,” which is an accurate description

Doctor's For Sensible Gun Laws How Have Mandatory Storage Laws Affected Crime and Accidents in Other Countries? Canada enacted such laws several years ago Canada now has a burglary rate significantly higher than that of the United States Canadian burglars are three times more likely than U.S. burglars to break into a home while it is occupied Accident rates in Canada actually went up following the enactment of such laws England enacted “safe storage” laws in the 1930s Not only does England have a higher burglary rate than the U.S. and has so for decades, but their home invasion rate is also much higher than that of the U.S. In the U.S., burglars almost always avoid occupied homes due directly to their concern over armed law-abiding citizens The low home invasion rate for the U.S. is significant, since many such instances also lead to rape, assault, and murder

Doctor's For Sensible Gun Laws What Were the Results of Mandatory Storage Laws on Civil Liberties in England? In 1936, the British police added a requirement to their firearms licenses related to “safe storage” Initially, this was a minor point and was designed to discourage irresponsible people from carelessly storing a firearm However, as is the case with gun control laws in general, such measures were gradually tightened with their goals being changed with time Today, self-defense is no longer accepted as a sufficient reason for owning a firearm - and thus the severity of the storage laws have been greatly increased Generally, the police in England will not issue a permit for a shotgun or hunting rifle without first conducting an unwarranted in-home inspection In most areas, gun safes are no longer sufficient storage mechanisms In the end, such mandatory storage laws have been used to further harass, discourage, and prevent law-abiding citizens for owning any type of firearm

Doctor's For Sensible Gun Laws How Should Guns Be Stored? The answer to this simple question is very complex and dependent on individual situations For example, a family with small children living in a crime plagued area may prefer alternative methods to trigger locks, such as quick access safes, since they may need ready access to a firearm for self-defense On the other hand, a family with small children living in an area with little if any crime, may prefer to use a safe for their firearms In all cases, the parents have a responsibility to insure that a firearm does not fall into the hands of a child, but there are many ways of accomplishing this goal and there are no “one size fits all” solutions The best approach is to allow parents, not members of Congress or some uninformed gun control group, to decide what is best for their families Educational programs, such as those offered by the NRA and other gun safety groups, are key to this issue through providing information on the available choices for safe storage and general gun safety

Doctor's For Sensible Gun Laws Are There Alternatives to Trigger Lock Laws? Education, education, and education! Educational programs have consistently shown that they have and will prevent accidents involving firearms - this is especially true for children as is evident by the current all time low accident rate One study after another has shown that children who are educated about firearms early in their lives and taught to respect them are not prone to be involved in firearm accidents or violence One way the government can play a positive role in this matter is to offer tax breaks and incentives for the purchase of storage items - a significant expense for low income families The most important point about firearm safety is common sense and following safety guidelines - there is no law that will increase common sense in inherently irresponsible people

Doctor's For Sensible Gun Laws Conclusions Trigger locks are easily defeated and they will lead to a false sense of security that will cause more accidents Such laws will be impossible to impose without using unwarranted searches of individual homes to insure compliance Trigger lock and mandatory storage laws will lead to more crime, since the criminal’s fear of an armed citizen will be reduced Mandatory storage laws are more accurately termed “criminal protection acts,” due to the disadvantages placed on law-abiding citizens who may need a firearm for self-defense against a home intruder, rapist, murderer, etc. Trigger locks will not prevent theft, since such devices are easily removed with simple tools Education is the proven answer to lowering accidents as is evident by the all time low levels we are currently enjoying Trigger locks and mandatory storage laws cannot impose common sense on the inherently irresponsible people

Doctor's For Sensible Gun Laws References and Suggested Reading Kopel, D. & Volokh, E. “What Kids Don’t Know Can Kill Them,” The Cato Institute, May 27, Sherman, R. D. “Trigger Locks Are Dangerous,” The Harford Courant, September 12, Tavares, C. D. “Trigger Locks and Airbags,” Middlesex News, July 19,