As a responsible gun owner, safely storing your firearms is a no-brainer. Is there anything more terrifying than the thought of someone you love being harmed by your firearm? You know it’s important to do your part to install proper safeguards, ensuring your family’s safety.

Sadly, stories of innocent children getting caught in “family fire” or bringing a gun to school are in the news on a weekly basis.

Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens (ages 1 to 19) in the US.

Children and teens in the US experience staggeringly high rates of gun deaths and injuries. They are also harmed when a friend or family member is killed with a gun, when someone they know is shot, and when they witness and hear gunshots. Tragically, children and teens are at heightened risk of firearms in the home. The vast majority of child and teen gun homicide deaths and unintentional shooting deaths and injuries occur in the home. Morre than 80 percent of child suicides involve a gun that belongs to a family member. — Everytown Research & Policy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gun-Related Injury Facts

A gun in the home can be very dangerous, especially for children. Every year, nearly 1300 children die from guns and many more are seriously injured. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes the best way to prevent gun-related injuries to children is to remove guns from the home. However, if you choose to keep a gun in the house, it is important that it is unloaded and locked, and that the ammunition is stored and locked in a separate location.

• 1 in 3 families with children has at least one gun in the house. It is estimated that there are more than 22 million children living in homes with guns.
• Most of the victims of unintentional shootings are boys. They are usually shot by a friend or relative, especially a brother.
• Nearly 40 percent of all unintentional shooting deaths among children 11- 14 years of age occur in the home of a friend.
• Adolescents are at a higher risk for suicide when there is a gun in the home.

— Nationwide Children’s

You Need More than Safe Storage

Whether you store your gun in a locked gun safe or hide an unloaded gun in a separate location from its ammunition, there is always the chance that your child is curious enough to discover the hiding place — and clever enough to figure out the safe’s combination. Even strong locks are not impossible to pick. Have you ever seen “The Lock Picking Lawyer” on YouTube? It’s frightening how quickly this guy can break locks open — but he can also tell you which ones are more secure. Often, lock combinations are written down on scraps of paper and hidden in desk drawers, making it easy to find if someone is snooping.

Using a motion sensor device in addition to whatever security system you already have in place is an affordable way to give you the peace of mind you deserve. The beauty behind this motion sensor device — called Kini — is that it sends you an SMS text alert the instant it detects movement. If you tether Kini to a gun trigger or attach it to the gun safe door, you will be notified immediately if the safe is opened or the gun is jostled.

Arm Yourself with Knowledge

A young, naive child who doesn’t understand the dangers of guns might want to touch them immediately, and intercepting them is paramount. A parent who is in the next room could receive this alert and be at the child’s side within seconds in order to interrupt whatever might have come next.

But in the case of children who are a bit older and perhaps have a better understanding of the dangers of guns, we know that when they come across one for the very first time, they are likely to do more than touch it. Instead, they might feel fear or exhilaration knowing that they have just discovered something that was clearly not intended to be found! The goal is to prevent the next time from ever happening.

Stay A Step Ahead

With Kini, parents are aware the very first time their gun’s hiding or storage place has been accessed. This warning enables the parent to ensure that the child is safe, and that further access has been denied. Parents should never assume that their child will stay away from things that are off-limits, whether they come by it by intentionally snooping or innocently happening upon it. It’s natural for children to be curious and snoop, and it’s easy when those things are not well-hidden — such as in a bedside table or kitchen drawer.

We are here because we are parents, too, and we know from experience that kids — both yours and mine — tell little white lies and will they do some things they shouldn’t. And that’s OK…until it isn’t. By adding more security to whatever it is you’re trying to keep off-limits, like your firearms, you’ll feel more confident and in control.

Never miss a move with Kini.