Gun Storage Check Week, a public awareness campaign created by the NSSF, starts today and runs through starting June 1 and running through next Friday, June 7. The goal of the campaign is to remind gun owners to review their storage practices with the mission to prevent accidents, suicides and thefts.

“Securely storing guns when they’re not in use can save lives. It’s really that simple,” said Joe Bartozzi, president and CEO of NSSF. “No one wants their gun in the hands of an unsupervised child, a person in crisis, someone who does not understand how to safely operate firearms or a thief. If something bad happens because your gun isn’t stored securely, you’ll regret it, probably forever.”

Bartozzi said that Gun Storage Check Week is a time for firearm owners to make sure their guns are securely stored when not in use.

“Hiding a gun on top of a refrigerator or a closet shelf or in some other location is not a substitute for secure, locked storage,” Bartozzi emphasized. “Even if a firearm is kept for home security, there are devices such as lock boxes that allow readiness and at the same time deter unauthorized access.”

The Gun Storage Check Week campaign’s slogan is “Make Sure It’s Secure.” Gun Storage Check Week is a good time for parents to make sure firearms are not accessible to children during their summer break from school.

Secure Storage and Suicide Prevention

Each year more than half of all firearm-related fatalities are suicide deaths, and among veterans the rate tops 72 percent.

“Suicide is preventable,” said Bartozzi. “Gun owners and their families can save lives by becoming more open to discussing factors that contribute to suicide risk and by preventing access to firearms when someone is at risk. Supporting someone who is struggling and being respectful of the right to own firearms can go together.”

Storing firearms securely creates “time and space” so that when a person in crisis cannot reach a firearm, there is time for the period of acute risk to pass or for intervention to take place, and that can save a life. When circumstances warrant it, temporary offsite storage can be a solution, but remember to follow applicable firearm transfer laws.

Gun Storage Check Week’s safety resources highlight many options to store firearms securely so that guns are off limits to unauthorized persons. Secure gun storage devices include:

• cable locks—often available free of charge, including through NSSF’s Project ChildSafe program
• lock boxes—a secure storage solution for guns kept for home security and in vehicles
• lockable gun cases—for security and portability
• full-size gun cabinets and safes—for owners with multiple firearms to protect, including against fire and theft.

The GunStorageCheck.org website provides resources to help gun owners decide which locked storage device can best meet their needs.

Win a Lock Box

For those who own handguns for home and personal security, lock boxes are a trusted storage solution that come in a range of models using keys, access codes or biometrics to open them. Codes can be changed when someone wants to temporarily give up access to a firearm, with access restored when the time is right. Visitors to gunstoragecheck.org will have the opportunity to enter the Gun Storage Check Week Sweepstakes to win one of 25 ShotLock lock boxes, and they can gain extra entries to win by watching a firearm safety video.

Free cable gun locks are available in thousands of communities across the country through NSSF’s Project ChildSafe program in partnership with law enforcement agencies.

“Periodically, all gun owners should review their firearm storage practices because people’s lives change—a child grows older and becomes more curious, a teenager or adult happens to be going through a rough patch in life,” said Bartozzi. “These and other situations might require a change in storage habits or devices.

“Make Gun Storage Check Week the time you check the box on safety in your home by making sure firearms are secured from unwanted access,” said Bartozzi.