Seattle Lawmaker Wants City's Mandatory Storage Law To Go National

For some of us, we can rest easy. We can be comfortable knowing that there’s not much of a chance of a mandatory storage bill being passed in our states or communities. We know that we don’t have to sweat some dipstick who knows nothing about personal defense making decisions on how we can and can’t store our firearms without any regard for our unique situations.

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Or, at least we did.

If one Seattle lawmaker gets their way, though, we’re all going to have to worry.

Seattle passed and implemented a safe gun storage law over the past year. Now, one of its higher lawmakers wants to take such gun control regulations nationwide.

“Establishing reasonable, common sense standards for storing guns and gun locks in the home is just one simple part of the responsibility we have to keep children and families safe,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal in a statement Wednesday. “It is our moral imperative to do all we can to prevent the all-too-frequent occurrence of gun violence, and I’m proud to partner with Rep. Engel in introducing this important piece of legislation.”

Jayapal represents Washington’s 7th congressional district, which covers Edmonds through Seattle and Burien, and Vashon Island. Along with Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), she is proposing the Safe Gun Storage Act in Washington D.C. HR 4691 was introduced Thursday.

They argue that a majority of gun owners (54 percent) do not safely store their firearms, and that 34 percent of homes with guns also have youth ages 18 years and younger. They further argue that 18 percent of all gun injuries happen because of improperly stored guns.

Little is known, yet, about exactly what is in the bill (the representatives did not include a copy in their press releases about it), but a statement about the Safe Gun Storage Act says that it will direct the “Consumer Protection Safety Commission to establish safety standards for firearm safes and firearm locks.”

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Oh, there’s so much male bovine excrement here to parse through…

First, look at the wording on the paragraph with the percentages.

They argue that a majority of gun owners (54 percent) do not safely store their firearms, and that 34 percent of homes with guns also have youth ages 18 years and younger. They further argue that 18 percent of all gun injuries happen because of improperly stored guns.

Now, for the sake of argument, let’s take these numbers at face value.

If 54 percent of gun owners don’t lock up their guns, that leaves 46 percent that do. That’s more than 34 percent, which means every home with youth age 18 or younger–which is a BS determination anyway since 18-year-olds can buy their own guns in most states–could have their guns locked up and still leave another 12 percent of homes with guns locked up without any children living there.

Oh, I’m quite sure it doesn’t break down that way, of course. The problem is that this information doesn’t tell you how it breaks down anyway.

Second of all, the claim that 18 percent of all “gun injuries” are the result of an improperly stored firearm is less than descriptive as well. After all, what are the total number of “gun injuries” anyway? 18 percent of what?

Let’s also be honest here, 18 percent isn’t a very large percentage, all things considered. While it’s still greater than we want it to be–zero would be a better number, I’m sure we can all agree–without a total number, we can’t get a grasp of the scope of the issue.

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Oh, one can look up the numbers for themselves, but people read the news to be informed, not to direct them to more research.

Basically, this is all a bunch of BS as things currently stand.

Luckily, there’s not much hope of this one actually going anywhere right now. Congress is so deadlocked that absolutely no gun bills are going anywhere. While the House may well pass this bill, it won’t even be heard in the Senate, much less become law.

Yet it’s worth remembering that these are the kinds of decisions anti-gun lawmakers want to take out of your hands and for them to make for you, despite knowing absolutely nothing about your situation, your needs, your children, or anything. It’s the ultimate Nanny Statism, really.

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