Gun Safety

Port Jervis City Police Proud to Partner with Project ChildSafe

About the Project

Project ChildSafe is a nationwide program that promotes safe firearms handling and storage practices among all firearm owners through the distribution of safety education messages and free firearm Safety Kits. The kits include a cable-style gun-locking device and a brochure (also available in Spanish) that discusses safe handling and storage. Since 2003, the Project has partnered with local law enforcement agencies to distribute more than 36 million safety kits to gun owners in all 50 states and five U.S. territories.

Project ChildSafe’s success is attributable to law enforcement, elected officials, community leaders, state agencies, businesses, the firearms industry and individuals who have worked to help raise awareness about the importance of securely storing firearms in the home.

The Port Jervis City Police Department is proud to join Project ChildSafe in promoting safe firearm handling and storage education.  If you would like to obtain a firearm safety kit free of charge, please contact the Port Jervis Police Department Administrative Offices at 845-858-4065 Monday-Friday between the hours of 9am-4pm to schedule a pick-up.

National Shooting Sports Foundation®

Project ChildSafe was developed and is sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry. Since 1961, the NSSF has strived to promote firearm safety education across the United States through a variety of outreach programs. The NSSF has more than 8,000 members, including manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers.

Project ChildSafe, Inc.

Project ChildSafe, Inc. is a nonprofit organization and the outgrowth of Project ChildSafe’s comittment to firearms safety and education.

The organization has applied for federal tax exemption as a 501(c)(3) public charity and if this designation is granted, then contributions to the organization will be deductible for federal income tax purposes.

Basic Firearm Safety Rules

Safety

Millions of Americans own firearms and more people choose to become gun owners every day. At the same time, crimes and accidents with firearms have been going down. Help Project ChildSafe keep this trend going in the right direction with these safety precautions.

Safe Handling

Firearms safety begins with understanding and carefully following the rules of safe gun handling.

Before handling any firearm, familiarize yourself with these safety procedures:

• Know how the firearm operates — including safely opening and closing the action of the firearm, and removing ammunition from the gun or its magazine. For free safety and operating instructions, write to the manufacturer or visit its website.
• Always keep a gun pointed in a safe direction, even when handling an unloaded gun — so that if it were to fire it would not result in injury.
• Never assume that a firearm is unloaded. Immediately open the action and look into the chamber(s) for ammunition, or if the gun has a magazine, carefully remove it before opening the action.
• Always keep your finger off the trigger, even when handling an unloaded gun. Your finger should rest outside the trigger guard or along the side of the gun. The only time you should touch the trigger is when you are ready to safely fire.

Remember, nearly all firearms accidents in the home can be prevented simply by making sure that guns are kept unloaded and locked up, with ammunition secured in a separate location.

Safe Storage

As a firearm owner, it is your responsibility to ensure that guns in your home are always stored where they are inaccessible to children or other unauthorized persons. Hiding a gun in a closet, drawer or similar location is not safe storage. Safe storage is employing precautions and multiple safeguards that provide an additional barrier against unauthorized use.

Key guidelines for safe storage include:

• Unloaded firearms should be stored in a locked cabinet, safe, gun vault or storage case. The storage location should be inaccessible to children.
• Gun locking devices render firearms inoperable and can be used in addition to locked storage. If firearms are disassembled, parts should be securely stored in separate locations.
• Ammunition should be stored in a locked location separate from firearms.
• Thoroughly double check firearms to confirm that they are unloaded when you remove them from storage. Accidents could occur if a family member borrows a gun and returns it to storage while still loaded.

A Message for Your Children

Children and adolescents are naturally curious about firearms and, as a result, may be tempted to “play” with a firearm they find. Make sure young people in your home are aware of and understand these safety guidelines:

1. Don’t go snooping, or allow other kids to go snooping, for guns in the house.
2. If you find a gun in your house, or anywhere else, STOP! Do not touch it or allow anyone else to. Leave the area and be sure to immediately tell an adult.
3. Even if a gun looks like a toy, don’t touch it. Some real guns look like toy guns, so don’t take a chance. Leave the area and immediately tell an adult.

Cable-Style Gun Locks

Cable-style locks, like those in the Project ChildSafe Safety Kit, should be used in addition to — not  as a substitute for — safe firearms handling and storage methods. The lock is intended to discourage unauthorized access to a firearm, particularly by young children, but should not be considered a high-security device. Reference the Project ChildSafe safety brochure from the kit for more information about properly installing the Project ChildSafe gunlock on various firearm types, safe handling and storage.

Firearms Kept for Home Security

The choice to keep a firearm in your home for sporting purposes, a collection or self-protection is a serious responsibility. Gun owners must be committed to obtaining the appropriate training and having a clear understanding of safe handling and storage rules to achieve the intended personal safety benefits.

Before choosing a firearm for home security, ask yourself these questions:

• Are my security concerns realistic and consistent with local crime rates?
• Do other adults in my household support maintaining a gun in the house?
• Will other adults with access to the firearm join me in a firearms training and safety program?
• What precautions will I practice to safeguard children?
• Do risk factors such as mental illness or drug and alcohol abuse exist within my household?

Your decision should also take into consideration issues such as individual temperament, reaction to emergency situations and specific family circumstances.

Access to Firearms Kept for Home Security

If you choose to keep a firearm for home security, your objective should be to create a situation in which the firearm is readily available to you, yet inaccessible or inoperative to others. Special lockable cases that can be quickly opened only by authorized individuals are options to consider.

Remember:

Keep all firearms locked in a safe place away from children and other unauthorized persons.

Store ammunition under lock and key separately from firearms.

Read and understand the owner’s manual that came with your firearm.

Follow safe gun handling practices: keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, keep fingers off the trigger, and keep the firearm unloaded when not in use.

Remember:  Whenever you pick up a gun, always assume the firearm is loaded and keep the gun pointed in a safe direction and check to ensure the firearm is unloaded!

– See more at: http://www.projectchildsafe.org