RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — State officials are trying to strengthen North Carolina’s gun storage laws to prevent children from having easy access. The Child Fatality Task Force met Wednesday to make their recommendations to lawmakers.
The task force is asking lawmakers to both change the language of the law and approve more funding to educate people on safe storage. Officials said it only takes a few seconds to safely store your gun and keep it out of a child’s hands.
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“The time it takes you to lock up is the same to put a seatbelt on or put your child in a child safety seat,” said William Lassiter, the deputy secretary for the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for the Department of Public Safety. “Those few seconds can save you from a lifetime of tragedy.”
Right now, a gun owner can face charges if they live with a minor, do not store their gun properly and the child brings it to school, carelessly shows it, injures or kills someone or commits a crime. However, the current law only applies to someone living in the same place as a child. The task force wants to remove that language so the law will cover situations, like guns stored inside cars.