Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gunlocks being passed out by city and county officers

Don't be alarmed when officers with the Prescott Police Department and Nevada County Sheriff's Office show up at the front door.

Through a partnership between the National Shooting Sports Foundation and Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller, more than 280,000 gunlocks will be distributed in Arkansas as part of the Project ChildSafe program. This is funded by a $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice and will provide about 20 million free gunlocks and firearm safety educational materials to families across the nation.

What will happen, said Virginia Hill, with Project ChildSafe, is officers will literally go door-to-door giving out gunlocks. This is so the weapons in a house can be made safe from children. Large and small locks will be given away, at no cost to the recipient, for handguns and rifles or shotguns.

Project ChildSafe is a nationwide program with the purpose to promote safe firearm handling and storage practices among gun owners. This is done by giving away free gunlocks and educational material.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation was formed in 1961 and has more than 2,500 members. It is the shooting sports industry's largest and most diverse trade association, according to information provide by Project ChildSafe.

The goal of Project ChildSafe is to prevent firearm-related accidents in the home. This is done by making the gun owners aware of their responsibility in handling firearms.

NSSF was appointed by the Department of Justice to administer Project ChidSafe because of the organization's experience and expertise in providing gunlocks and safety education messages to firearm owners across the country. This was first done through Project HomeSafe.

The NSSF supplies the safety kits, which include a gunlock and educational materials on firearm safety, to law enforcement agencies. These supplies are, in turn, delivered to the homes of residents where there are weapons and children.

Project ChildSafe tours the nation with 15 educational vehicles and visits thousands of communities. The van was in Prescott Thursday, Feb. 12, where 500 locks were given to the Prescott Police Department and about 1,000 locks were presented to the NCSO.

Those interested in getting gunlocks or the kit can also contact the PPD or NSCO about them. Should local law enforcement agencies run out of locks or kits, they can contact the governor's office for more.