March 30, 2015
A New Jersey mayor is proposing legislation requiring gun safety to be taught in elementary schools throughout the state.
Deborah Buzby-Cope, the mayor of Bass River Township in Burlington County, and President of the New Jersey Conference of Mayors, will present her gun-safety program proposal during the NJCM meeting April 22 in Atlantic City, according to The Press of Atlantic City.
“[The gun-safety lessons] would be a 15-minute part of the class and could save a child’s life,” Buzby-Cope told The Press of Atlantic City. “We talk about drugs, alcohol, sex, texting, bullying in schools — and these are all the issues — but it’s kind of like gun safety got pushed off to the side, and we’re not talking about it with kids like we used to.”
“We talk about drugs, alcohol, sex, texting, bullying in schools — and these are all the issues — but it’s kind of like gun safety got pushed off to the side, and we’re not talking about it with kids like we used to," Bass River Township Mayor Deborah Buzby-Cope.
In addition to promoting youth gun-safety lessons, Buzby-Cope will also advocate requiring all state gun owners to use gunlocks.
According to the latest statistics from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 800 children under 14 were killed in gun accidents from 1999 to 2010. About 35 percent of U.S. homes have at least one gun and nearly all unintentional childhood shooting deaths occur in or around the home — either in the gun owner’s home or a friend’s home.
Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania offers tips for parents regarding gun safety, including “Before your child goes to a friend’s home to play, ask the other parents if there is a gun in their home. If so, ask how and where it is stored.”
New Jersey State law requires gun owners to store their loaded firearms in a locked container or secure location, or secure them with a trigger lock if they reasonably should know a minor would likely have access to the weapon.
Read the full The Press of Atlantic City article here.
