Saving Lives: Boulder RC Gives Away Gun Safes
The Boulder Rotary Club implemented a gun safe giveaway that may very well save lives. To help prevent accidental gun deaths, suicides, and domestic violence fatalities, the Boulder Rotary Club, in collaboration with the Boulder County District Attorney's Office and Boulder Community Health, put 510 home and car gun safes and 150 cable locks for long guns directly into the hands of gun owners. The planning committee raised $20K in order to purchase the safes. Providing safes and locks is a simple step that can prevent tragedies while respecting the rights of responsible owners.
The Gun Safe Giveaway took place on October 18 in Boulder Community Health Foothills Hospital parking lot. Registration was not required, and distribution was based on first-come, first-served while supplies lasted, with a limit of two items per household. There was such a high demand that the supply was depleted with 75 people left in line. Twenty-five Boulder Rotary Club members, 15 members of the Fairview High School Interact Club and many community members made the event happen. Photo: Fairview Interact Students loading batteries into safes.
Firearm-related injuries are one of the leading causes of death for young people in Colorado. Research shows that safe storage can prevent accidental gun deaths, domestic violence fatalities, and suicides. The impulse act of suicide can be prevented if a person has to hesitate to open a safe.
The numbers tell a powerful story. 1 in 3 Coloradans personally own at least one firearm. In Colorado, 45% of households have a firearm and 38% of households with firearms have children living in them. Most children, who die of gunshot wounds, are accidentally killed at home with a gun owned by a parent. In 92% of those childhood deaths, the guns were loaded and unlocked.
A recent study by the CO School of Public Health found that one-third of CO teens said they could lay their hands on a loaded weapon. While 53% say they could access the firearm within their own home, others say they could get a loaded gun from an extended family member, from a friend, or through purchase or theft.
The Boulder Rotary Club will share tips with clubs within the District. Feel free to contact Constance Holden, BRC's Gun Violence Prevention Committee Chair, at cholden@icloud.com.