Title
Ordinance adopting Chapter 10.58 of the Municipal Code to require the safe storage of firearms in a residence
body
WHEREAS, having a loaded or unlocked gun in the home is associated with an increased risk of gun-related injury and death; and
WHEREAS, according to a 2008 report published in the New England Journal of Medicine, living in a home where guns are kept increased an individual's risk of death by homicide by between 40% and 170%; and
WHEREAS, a 2004 national study determined that the presence of guns in the home increased an individual's risk of death by homicide by 90%; and
WHEREAS, firearm injuries have a significant public health impact; and
WHEREAS, according to a 2015 study, researchers conservatively estimate that gun violence costs the American economy at least $229 billion every year, including $8.6 billion in direct expenses such as those for emergency and medical care; and
WHEREAS, in California, the direct costs of hospital use for firearm assault injuries alone was estimated at $87.4 million in 2010, and 65% of these costs were borne by taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, children are particularly at risk of injury and death from firearms when firearms are not safely secured in their own homes or in homes they visit, and according to national data, children and young adults (24 years of age and under) constitute 38% of all firearm deaths and non-fatal injuries; and
WHEREAS, more than 75% of guns used in suicide attempts and unintentional injuries of children and young adults (0-19 year of age) were stored in the residence of the victim, a relative, or a friend; and
WHEREAS, 89% of accidental shooting deaths among children occur in the home, and most of these deaths occur when children are playing with an unsecured loaded gun in
their parents' absence; and
WHEREAS, applying trigger locks or using lock boxes when storing firearms in the home reduces the risk of firearm injury and death; and
WHEREAS, keeping a firearm locked when it is n...
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