COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Firearms have been around since the late 1300s. Today in 2021, about 46% of people in the United States are gun owners.
The Texas Department of Public Safety made an initiative called, “KEEP ‘EM SAFE, TEXAS!”
Texas DPS Lieutenant Craig Cummings said this campaign highlights the importance of storing guns safely.
“The KEEP ‘EM SAFE, TEXAS! was brought about in the 87th legislation in Texas and then appropriated the Texas Department of Public Safety over about $1 million over this two-year period to promote a state-wide gun storage campaign,” Cummings said.
Cummings said millions of Texans own at least one firearm.
Cummings said their campaign is asking for gun-owners to take personal responsibility for gun safety.
“Know where the weapon is, know who has access to it and make sure that no one else can get access to it other than the person that owns that weapon,” Cummings said.
Barry Burdett, the owner of Burdett and Son’s in College Station, said no matter the reason you’re wanting to securely store your firearms, there are multiple ways to do so.
“Obviously gun safes are very recommended because that protects you from the number of threats or possible losses of those firearms, but also you can keep them in a closet secures or locked,” Burdett said.
Burdett said it’s a good idea when the guns are unattended to keep a lock on the firearm so it will be unusable when you’re away from it.
Burdett said it’s also a good idea to place your firearm and ammunition in different places.
“The best reason for that is if someone comes across one or the other, they don’t have both in the same place, so if they find the ammunition, they still have to find the firearm or vice versa,” Burdett said.