Storing firearms safely at home is a critical step in preventing accidental shootings, suicides and unauthorized access, especially by children and those prohibited from possessing guns.

Research by various groups consistently shows secure firearm storage reduces the risk of accidental injuries and deaths specifically among children and teens. Households that keep firearms under lock and key experience significantly lower rates of self-inflicted and accidental firearm injuries among youth.

Joseph McHugh, spokesperson for the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, says the issue needs to be framed positively.

“Many times the narrative we see focuses on the punishment for parents who improperly store their firearms, but we should be focusing on the benefits of securely storing firearms,” he said. “Storing guns locked and unloaded means thieves, children and other untrained hands will not have access to dangerous weapons.”

Rep. Daniel Sayre of Kennebunk, sponsor of LD 1120 “An Act to Promote the Secure Storage of Firearms,” drew from the growing number of preventable tragedies statewide to explain why this legislation matters.

“There certainly have been a number of episodes in the state where tragedy has resulted from someone accessing a firearm that was not theirs, and was not securely stored,” Sayre explained. “There was a child under the age of 2 shot and killed recently as a result of a family dispute (by) someone who’d gotten their hands on a firearm that was not their own.

“So, the goal of the bill is really to encourage firearms owners to take proper precautions with their firearms when those firearms are not under their personal control.”

Safe storage means storing firearms unloaded, locked and separate from ammunition, according to the Maine Coalition for Gun Safety’s Firearm Safety Practices:

• Never keep loaded guns in your home.
• Always store your gun with a trigger lock and in a locked cabinet.
• Lock and store bullets in a separate location from guns.
• Keep guns out of sight and reach of children.
• Make sure cabinet/gun lock keys are inaccessible to children.
• Ask if there are unlocked guns in play-date homes before your children go to play.
• Educate your children to treat all firearms as loaded and dangerous.
• Tell kids that when they see a gun, they should stop, don’t touch, leave the area quickly and calmly, and tell an adult right away.
• If your child or anyone in your home is known to be suicidal, remove all guns from your home.

The Maine State Police Firearms Safety and Storage brochure outlines essential guidelines for firearm owners:

• Always store guns unloaded.
• Store firearms locked in a secure container such as a gun safe or lock box.
• Store ammunition separately in a locked container.
• Use gun locks (trigger or cable locks) as an additional safety measure.
• Educate family members, especially children, about firearm safety and the dangers of handling guns without supervision.
• Never store firearms in a way that allows access by unauthorized persons, including minors or those prohibited by law.

Sayre’s bill would require secure storage when firearms are not in use, making it a crime to store guns in a manner that allows access by minors or prohibited persons. Violations resulting in crime or injury could carry Class D or Class C charges.

Safe storage is especially crucial around children.

“Kids and toddlers are naturally curious, and if a gun is left out, tragedy can happen,” said Nacole Palmer of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition.