Newtown, CT – Yesterday’s re-introduction of Ethan’s Law in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), along with support from the rest of the Connecticut congressional delegation, is a critical step forward in addressing the increasing rates of gun violence in the U.S.
Ethan’s Law would require the safe and secure storage of firearms to prevent children or those legally prohibited from possessing a firearm from gaining access to them. It would also incentivize states to adopt their own laws regarding secure storage by creating federal funds to assist with implementation.
The bill is named in honor of Ethan Song, a teenager from Guilford, Connecticut, who was tragically killed on January 31, 2018 in an accidental shooting involving an unsecured gun in a neighbor’s home.
“Sandy Hook Promise stands with the Song family in support of Ethan’s Law. Unsecured guns pose a serious threat to people of all ages, especially young people. Laws that support the secure storage of firearms are critical to ensuring the safety of our children, families and communities,” said Mark Barden, co-founder and CEO of the Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund and father of Daniel, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy.
According to a 2018 study by scholars at the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, 4.6 million minors in the U.S. live in homes with at least one loaded, unlocked firearm. Further, surveys by the Department of Family and Community Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital have shown that three out of four children know the location of their parent’s gun in the home, and one out of every three children admitted to handling the gun unsupervised. Without strong policy action, these statistics represent countless tragedies waiting to happen.
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The Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund (SHPAF) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization committed to protecting all children from gun violence in schools, homes, and communities. The SHP Action Fund advances a holistic policy platform that promotes gun safety, youth mental health, and violence prevention education. The organization works at the state and federal level to pass nonpartisan legislation through inclusive partnerships, diverse grassroots education, and community mobilization. It is part of Sandy Hook Promise, founded and led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.
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