From CeaseFirePA (http://www.ceasefirepa.org):
Last month, 9-year old Nyssa Davis was shot and killed inside her home in North Philadelphia. The reported shooter: her 5-year-old cousin.¹ The family has been torn apart with their “sunshine” now gone.
Millions of children are living with similarly unsecured guns. But, a simple safe storage law could lead to 59% fewer children fatalities.
Nearly half of the U.S. has laws mandating that gun owners secure their firearms, including states like Florida, Wisconsin, and Texas.² Unfortunately, Pennsylvania is not among them. But there is legislation ready to pass right now that could change this.³
Email your State Representative at https://ceasefirepa.salsalabs.org/safestorage/index.html and tell her/him: We need a law requiring safe storage of guns.
Gun owners can make their homes and communities safer by storing their guns securely. This means storing firearms locked and unloaded. Securing firearms protects children and adults by preventing unintentional shootings and gun suicides.
The sad truth is that Nyssa didn’t have to die. We know there are commonsense policies that would have protected her. And if we don’t make changes here in PA, Nyssa won’t be the last child to die in such a tragic and preventable way.
¹https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/gun-storage-shooting-safety-pediatrics-20210202.html
²Rand Corporation, State Firearm Law Navigator
³Pennsylvania State Legislature, HB 237 (Warren), Sen. Santarsiero
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