Title
Special recognition of September 2024 as Safe Gun Storage month in Lake County.
Body
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
WHEREAS, safe gun storage is a matter of public safety with responsible gun owners prioritizing safe storage; and
WHEREAS, according to the 2022 Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Report, more than one million guns were stolen from private citizens from 2017 to 2021; and
WHEREAS, according to research funded by the National Institute of Justice, over 80% of mass shooters at K-12 schools stole guns from family members; and
WHEREAS, in 2020, firearm-related injuries became the leading cause of injury death for children and teens ages 1-19; and
WHEREAS, firearms are responsible for nearly 60% of all suicides in our nation and are used in 46.8% of suicides among teens and children under the age of 18, with 80% of firearm suicides by children involving a gun owned by a family member; and
WHEREAS, 76% of K-12 school mass shootings involved firearms accessed from a family member; and
WHEREAS, 76% of unintentional shootings of children were committed with unsecured guns from the home; and
WHEREAS, a 2015 study reported in Journal of American Medical Association estimated that roughly 4.6 million children live in a home with loaded and unlocked firearms; and
WHEREAS, it is a safe practice to store firearms so they are not accessible to unauthorized individuals or minors; and
WHEREAS, in 2023, Ethan's Law was proposed in the Illinois Senate as Senate Bill 1521; and
WHEREAS, under Ethan's Law, gun owners would be required to secure their firearms in a "secure gun storage or safety device" or "in a location that a reasonable person would believe to be secure" if a minor is likely to gain access to the firearm without permission, or if a resident of the dwelling cannot legally possess a firearm under existing law; and
WHEREAS, the Lake County Board supports legislation that would mandate safe firearm storage through its 2023 Legislative Agenda and on Apr...
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