Support safe gun storage

Last November, Washingtonians voiced their overwhelming support for a key measure to reduce gun violence. Initiative 1491 passed by a 69 percent majority statewide, with a decisive majority in every county of the state, save for one. This measure allows police, family, or household members to obtain court orders temporarily preventing firearms access by persons exhibiting mental illness, violent or other behavior indicating they may harm themselves or others.

This year, Washingtonians have the opportunity to further strengthen our laws to lower gun violence rates. House Bill 1122 is a common sense piece of legislation to require owners of firearms to store them safely so that children and other persons who should not have access do not inappropriately gain access to them. How many times now have we heard about children taking an unsecured gun from their home and using it to harm others?

More than 30,000 die every year in gun violence in America. Enough is enough! Encourage your legislators to take another key step in reducing gun violence by supporting the passage of HB1122.

This story was originally published January 24, 2017 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Support safe gun storage."