December 18, 2019 - WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) on Tuesday joined Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and 18 of their Senate colleagues in introducing new legislation directing the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to establish safety standards for firearm locks and firearm safes. U.S. Representatives Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives earlier this year.

“There is a gun violence epidemic in this country,” said Senator Harris. “This legislation will help keep children and families safe by establishing important standards for firearm locks and firearm safes– a vital step in preventing gun violence. It’s imperative that we stop firearms from falling into the wrong hands. We must act now.”

An estimated 4.6 million American minors live in a household with a firearm. According to a 2018 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health survey, 54 percent of gun owners report storing their firearms in an unsafe manner. Eighteen percent of all gun injuries in our nation occur because of this high rate of improperly stored firearms in homes.

Along with Harris and Blumenthal, the Safe Gun Storage Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Bob Casey (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chris Coons (D-DE), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tom Udall (D-NM), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Source: Senator Kamala D. Harris