Weapons Safety for First Responders at Home

Gordon Graham here with Today’s Tip from Lexipol. Today’s Tip applies to anyone and everyone. It doesn’t matter what line of work you’re in. Please, just listen to what I have to say and take it to heart.

If you’re responsible enough to have a firearm or other weapon in your home or vehicle, please be responsible enough to keep it secured.

Most of you have some type of weapon at home. A firearm. A conducted energy device. Pepper spray. A Ka-Bar knife. Whatever the weapon, allowing it to get into the wrong hands can have disastrous consequences.

Let’s focus on firearms. There are countless stories of children finding a parent’s unsecured gun and someone getting shot. Take, for instance, the 2-year-old boy in Florida who found an unsecured handgun in his house. The boy played with the loaded gun and accidentally shot and killed his father. Or the case of another 2-year-old boy in North Carolina who found a loaded pistol in his father’s truck and accidentally shot himself in the head.

I could spend all day rattling off story after story of similar incidents. But I’m not going to. Instead, I’m simply going to remind you all how important it is to make sure all firearms are properly stored and secured.

It really isn’t that difficult. If you’re going to have guns in your home — or any other weapon, for that matter — keep them out of reach of curious little hands. Get a safe. Use a trigger lock or a cable lock. It’s not enough to hide a gun in the top of a closet or under a mattress. Put a lock and key between your children and danger.

There aren’t any excuses. If you’re responsible enough to have a firearm or other weapon in your home or vehicle, please be responsible enough to keep it secured. Doing anything less can have tragic consequences.

And that’s Today’s Tip from Lexipol. Until next time, Gordon Graham signing off.

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