Initiative to promote safe gun storage to be introduced at public forum in Seaside

Be Safe, a public education campaign that promotes safe gun storage at home, will be launched at a forum with Sen. Bill Monning, Assemblymember Mark Stone, a representative from Congressman Jimmy Panetta’s office and members of Be Smart’s advisory panel.

The forum will happen on Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Press Club in Seaside. Be Smart said guns are the second leading cause of preventable death among children and teens in the U.S, and unintentional shootings stemming from unsecured guns has been recognized as an issue. It said 1,300 children are killed and 5,800 are injured every year by guns. Be Smart said 350 of those are caused by children unintentionally shooting themselves or someone else. Nearly 600 teens use guns found in the home to commit suicide, according to Be Smart.

Be Smart said although all guns sold or transferred by a licensed dealer in California are required to include a safety device, only about 10% of gun owners use the devices, so it hopes the forum can help educate the public about the importance of safe gun storage.

“This program is a true community-based effort with the sole objective of protecting our children. We will be asking the public to join with us and to provide their ideas on how we can most effectively move forward. This is a public health problem that we can actually do something about,” said Susan Meister, the Monterey County Be Smart lead.