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I n the wake of the tragic December shooting death of a Saratoga County youth, Granville officials are reminding residents the Granville Village Police Department has dozens of free gun locks available.
“I support any program that involves an increased level safety for children,” Granville Police Chief Ernie Bassett Jr. said Monday.
The locks have been available at the police station since 2005 when a program paid for by the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s distributed 475,000 free gunlocks throughout New York state. The locks are designed to fit through the action of a firearm, in the case of a revolver through the cylinder to prevent it from rotating or in the case of a semi-automatic through the space for the magazine, to prevent the weapon – pistol or rifle – from firing.
Nationally the program aimed to give out 12 million locks – free of charge.
Bassett said there is no reason for anyone to wait to be safe.
“We actually have locks left over from the last time that they delivered, so there are plenty of locks. They’re free to anybody that comes in and there’s no limit; we’ll give them as many as they need,” he said.
The effort seeks to remind gun owners to take steps to keep loaded guns out of the hands of children, a pro-active step to prevent tragic accidents like the late December shooting of one Maple Avenue School student of a classmate.
The kit contains the lock, literature on how to use it, as well as safety tips for storage and handling.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website shows between 2000 and 2007 there were 12 accidental shootings in New York state for people ages 0-14, considering both sexes and regardless of race. Nationwide the number of accidental gun deaths during the same period was 531.
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