The North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force met with lawmakers Wednesday to recommend ways to strengthen North Carolina's gun storage laws.
The initiative calls for changes to the wording of laws written on the issue and for more funding to educate people on how to safely store their guns.
“It takes the same amount of time to lock your car as it takes to put on your seat belt or put your child in a car seat,” said William Lassiter, deputy secretary for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention at the Department of Public Safety. “Those few seconds can save you from a lifetime of tragedy.”
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US-64 enters North Carolina from Tennessee near Hothouse, and signs mark the long drive across the state to the Outer Banks. (Charlie Crates)
Firearms are now one of the leading causes of child death in the state. The state also ranks 12th in the nation for the number of young lives lost to gun violence.
“Recommendations from the task force for 2024 call for continued funding for the NC SAFE Firearms Safety Campaign and the newly created NC Office of Violence Prevention, as well as efforts to strengthen the state’s children with firearms.” “The Prevention of Access Act reflects a continued focus on the importance of safe custody,” says the latest report from the Child Fatality Task Force.
“Other 2024 recommendations call for continued funding for more school nurses, social workers, counselors and psychologists and target addictive social media algorithms that harm children. By approving this bill, we continue the work of the Task Force on Suicide Prevention and the Youth Mental Health Crisis.”
Lawmakers also want to change the charges for adults when a child acquires a gun that results in bodily harm or death.
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The weapons on display here that are classified as assault-style rifles in Illinois are currently prohibited for sale in Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Currently, North Carolina law states that only gun owners who live in a home with children can be held liable for failing to store their guns safely. Wednesday's vote recommended changing that by removing the residency requirement. This makes all gun owners responsible for storing their guns safely.
They are also proposing more than $2 million in recurrent funding to fund NC SAFE, a campaign aimed at educating people about safe gun storage.
A recent Wall Street Journal report said Democratic voters are the “most surprising” group of new gun owners in the United States. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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“We distributed 60,000 gun locks,” Lassiter said. “People are desperate for these resources so they can actually do the right thing at home.”
All items discussed at the General Assembly will now be sent to the General Assembly, where task force members will work with legislators to pass legislation.
