In partnership with Columbia Police Department, Columbia Parks, and Recreation, and a local nonprofit, Serve and Connect, the city announced its “Lock It Up, Columbia” campaign which encourages firearm owners to make safe firearms storage a priority.
According to the National Crime Prevention Council, 89% of unintentional shooting deaths of children occur in the home — and most of these deaths occur when children are playing with a loaded gun in their parents’ absence.
“Today, I am pleased to introduce the City of Columbia’s Lock it Up Campaign, a project this is focused on promoting safety in our communities by increasing safe firearm storage. Over the next several months, the City in partnership with Columbia Police Department, Parks and Rec, and community leaders will be raising awareness, why it’s important to store firearms safely, safe storage device options, how to practice safe storage at home, how to encourage others to store firearms safely,” said Councilwoman Aditi Bussells.
To encourage safe storage solutions among firearms, Serve and Connect will be hosting a kick-off event for FREE gun locks on Thursday, June 30, 2022 in The Belmont Community, 1003 Colleton St. This will be the first official event where gun locks will be distributed to the public. After the 30th, citizens will have the opportunity to pick up free gun locks at various locations and events.
For more information, visit columbiasc.gov.
