LOS ANGELES – A safety campaign aimed at getting owners of firearms to keep them secure was launched Wednesday by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
At a news conference in downtown Los Angeles, Sheriff Jim McDonnell introduced three public safety announcements for the “If It’s Not Secure, It’s Not Safe,” campaign aimed at a preventing accidental gun deaths.
“This is not only common sense, but keeping firearms locked up is the law,” McDonnell said, adding that owners of guns must “balance access” to a weapon kept for personal safety “with safety of those that are in the home as well.”
He conceded the difficulty of striking that balance.
“Is it difficult? Yeah, maybe it is difficult, but it’s well worth the effort to be able to do that,” McDonnell said.
The PSAs — which “depict very different, realistic and moving scenarios” — will be run on the sheriff’s department’s 50 Facebook and 35 Twitter accounts, which reach eight million users, according to the department. One shows a young girl punching in a code to access a gun safe next to a bed where a woman is sleeping.
Keeping guns locked in safes isn’t good enough if the key or combination is readily available.
“Children often know where guns are stored at home and how to access them, even if their parents don’t think they do,” according to the sheriff’s department.
Citing a 2016 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, sheriff’s officials noted that improperly stored guns led to 3,000 children being unintentionally shot nationwide, 127 of them fatally.
McDonnell urged community outreach representatives at Los Angeles-area television news stations as well as online media outlets to consider airing the PSAs as a public service.
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Shane Smith says
My name is Shane Smith. I have guns in my home in Lancaster. With no safety lock. I allow children under 8 access to them. I have a felony too. I see no harm in the child picking up the firearm. No harm in the child being exposed to a firearm. Neither does the law apparently. When this was reported Lancaster’s Sheriff Station responded for follow up 5 MONTHS later. Of course by then, there was nothing they could do.
Concerned Cit says
You are impersonating Mr. Smith, whomever you are.
Tim Scott says
Yeah, confessing to crimes and acting wildly stupid is usually a dead giveaway that they are using someone else’s name. In this case I’d guess disgruntled neighbor.
Magnetlady says
Gun Safety classes are available thru the NRA… No one under the age of 18 is allowed to purchase any weapon.. Therefore, we need to remember what the Bill Of Rights allows us as citizens, the right to ”keep & bear arms”… Remember, ”Without the 2nd Amendment, You WON’T have the 1st Amendment”.. Be RESPONSIBLE if you are a gun owner..
alby says
cops ought to practice what they preach. they think theyre above it all because theyre “trained”. theyre always ready to kill… I mean “stop” someone with a wallet or cell phone or friggin candy bar in their hand. they want to control your fire arms so that they can eventually control your independence and freedom of expression and make you feel like they know you better than you know yourself for the sake of gun safety!?! and whats more pathetic is that a criminal mind is reading this and now thinking that he/she has an advantage over the law abiding gun owner. the safest place for a gun is in a conceal carry holster within the perimeter walls of your own property. if cops kept their guns locked at all times then senseless killings could have definately been avoided because they would have taken a few seconds to actually think as they’re unlocking the gun fom their holster. and it makes me wonder why they don’t wear kevlar around their crotch area. probably becaue their [removed]less.
MARK JOHNSON says
WE NEED TO DISARM ALL AMERICANS FOR OUR SAFETY MACHIN GUNS BELONG IN HANDS OF OUR SOLDIERS NOT ORDINARY METH SMOKING PEOPLE
MrCaps says
DISARM ALL AMERICANS ?
I can do all caps too.
Laughing says
MARK, it is illegal to own a machine gun without intensive background checks and large license fees. Very few collectors have them.
The number one gun used to kill people, pistols. Rarely are pistols machine in nature.
Yell louder for drunk/impaired driving laws to be enforced since more people die in that fashion.
Or that roads get properly repaired, many die from that as well.
Or food gets properly inspected, quite a few die each year that way as well.
Michael otnisky says
And what are you going to do about the 3000 plus children that die from drowing every year.
Tim Scott says
It’s always nice when someone who is trying to deflect using the classic “whataboutism” actually uses the words ‘what’ and ‘about.’ If you had strung them directly together it would be even more amateurish, but well played nonetheless.
Alexis says
You blew up at someone for not sticking with the A.V. Times rules, so practice what you preach.
Tim Scott says
I blew up? Crap, I didn’t know. Hey, how can I still type?
Alexis says
LOL, you don’t even have to try to deflect like Michael O. You define deflection. You could look at your reflection in the mirror, and sure enough you would deflect. Laughing at your deflection, reflection?
Tim Scott says
You should let that red haze clear before you try to attack…you are incoherent.
Laughing says
How about the 80,000 people that died from flu
https://www.vox.com/2018/9/27/17910318/80000-americans-died-last-year-get-your-flu-shot
Alby says
Cops-tend-to-get-their-foot-shot. I cant wait to see them put a locking device on their gun holster when they’re on duty. They need their gun as much as a helpless civilian does. Besides all they do is drive around and write a bunch of tickets.
Not-so-much says
Maybe get rid of all the water?? Oh, wait…. we don’t have any….