A new public service announcement promoting safe gun storage is now running on local TV and radio stations. “Responsible Vermont gun owners do more than use their guns safely; they store them safely,” it begins. “Because a gun that ends up in the wrong hands can have devastating results.”
Such as, for example, the teacher in Virginia who was allegedly shot by her 6-year-old student.
The Vermont Association of Broadcasters produced the spots on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont. The office recently launched GunSafeVT, an initiative focused on Vermont gun owners.
“We want gun owners to store firearms safely — locked and unloaded and away from ammunition,” said U.S. Attorney Nikolas Kerest. “Safe gun storage helps put time and space between access to a firearm and potential gun violence.”
In addition to producing two PSAs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is giving away free gun locks at libraries and sheriff’s offices around the state.
Find a list of distribution sites, along with information about Vermont’s temporary firearms storage program,
at gunsafevt.org.
This article appears in Kids VT, Spring 2023.
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