Congratulations to Legislator Ellen Birnbaum for her effort to pass a gun-safe storage act in Nassau County. Gun owners should be required to secure their firearms when they are not in their immediate possession or control. When a gun is
not locked up, accidents can and do happen. Each week in the United States nine children are unintentionally shot in their own home or that of a friend. In fact, American kids are 16 times more likely to be killed in unintentional shootings than in any other high-income country. Children are naturally curious. As adults, we are responsible for protecting our children, but not all adults act responsibly when it comes to guns. Safe storage would prevent up to 70 percent of unintentional child firearm deaths. Don’t our children deserve this protection?
—Sandra Salat
