USNews.com reports that guns are the leading cause of death for children in America. The first lady, along with some other leaders, announced a new initiative last week for principals involving gun storage. She told the administrators they can be part of the solution:
Jill Biden: "You can show parents that they can be part of preventing the next shooting, the next suicide, the next accident."
AFN spoke with Mark Oliva, managing director of public affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, who says while some of the proposed initiative is good, there's more to it.
"We applaud the Biden administration for recognizing the importance of firearm safety storage," says Oliva. "This is an initiative that the firearm industry has actually been proactive on very heavily for over 20 years." According to Oliva, every firearm that leaves the factory includes a locking device in the case.
He explained that the NSSF also has a partnership with law enforcement agencies in all 50 states and five U.S. territories through which they have distributed more than 40 million gun-safety kits to make sure guns are locked up and put away when not in use.
But according to Oliva, this push from the Biden administration is a moot point.
"The concerns that I have with the Biden administration proposal is they're looking to do a mandatory storage law," he continues. "That means they would require you to keep your firearm locked in your home. Unfortunately for the Biden administration – and fortunately for American gun owners – the U.S. Supreme Court has already spoken on this issue in the Heller decision."
As stated in 2008 by the justices in DC v. Heller:
"The requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional."
Clearly, Oliva concludes, "this [proposal by the administration] would be an unconstitutional law that they're going to try to push forward."
He adds: "Gun owners should have the option to be able to store their firearm [in a fashion] that's going to best suit their needs … and that need is going to change over time."
