Urge Rep. Fitzpatrick to Co-Sponsor Safe Gun Storage Bill

From CeaseFirePA (http://www.ceasefirepa.org):

Unintentional shootings and gun suicides are tearing apart families, endangering children, and are being ignored by too many in political power who could make a difference. As Everytown wrote about just a few months ago, this is happening in our communities, including with a 17 year old in Philadelphia. He was shot and wounded when a friend was playing with a gun he had access to because of unsafe storage practices¹. When adult gun owners lock away their guns properly, they save lives, and it is time we hold them to that standard of responsibility.

We’re now on the precipice of passing federal legislation through the House of Representatives, and advocates across the country are looking to all of us to step up our game. We think that Representative Brian Fitzpatrick can be convinced on this issue, and we need him to become a co-sponsor. Contact him right now at https://ceasefirepa.salsalabs.org/220324FitzpatrickEthansLaw/index.html.

Gun violence remains the leading cause of death of Pennsylvanians aged 0 to 19², and over the last decade, firearm suicides have risen by 42%³. And across the entire country, families are enduring the unimaginable pain of tragedy because elected officials won’t take this sensible action to ensure safe gun storage in American homes. This bill, known as “Ethan’s Law” across the country, exists and is almost across the finish line because the parents of Ethan Song have worked tirelessly since losing their son to an unintentional shooting. They’ve partnered with Newtown Action Alliance and have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time.

We need to get this bill passed through Congress so President Biden can sign it into law. Make your voice heard.

We know what to do. We know that mandating the safe storage of firearms, paired with public education efforts about the impact of that choice, will undoubtedly save lives. We know that just like the public education campaign to encourage the use of seatbelts in your car, this is a common sense safety practice that does nothing to undermine the right to own a firearm while making ourselves and everyone around us safer. In the end, shouldn’t safety be the goal?

Take 60 seconds right now to let Representative Fitzpatrick know that Pennsylvanians need this law, and that our entire country needs it. We’re hoping he will do the right thing here.

¹ https://www.everytown.org/press/a-philadelphia-teenager-was-critically-wounded-in-an-unintentional-shooting-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-secure-storage/

²  https://everytownresearch.org/graph/firearms-are-the-leading-cause-of-death-for-american-children-and-teens/

³ https://everytownresearch.org/report/the-rise-of-firearm-suicide-among-young-americans/