SLC Police Department gun locks and local safety tips

SALT LAKE CITY — According to Gifford Law Center, an average of 100 Americans are killed by guns every day. Salt Lake City Police and local businesses are promoting firearm safety to help reduce this statistic. 

The Salt Lake City Police Department is currently giving out free gun locks to all gun owners. Detective Michael Ruff from SLCPD says, “A couple times a year, we try to get the word out that we have these locks so we can have people secure their guns safely.”

The gun locks can fit almost every kind of gun. Detective Ruff told me that when keeping a gun at home, it should be locked and stored in a lockbox or a safe. This is the best way to keep it out of the hands of children and even burglars looking for firearms. 

Doug’s Sport n Shoot in Taylorsville is a local business that works hard to make sure that people are educated on gun safety through classes, store signs, and merchandise. The owner, Dave Larsen, encourages people of all ages to educate themselves on safety regulations and proper shooting technique. 

Larsen believes that adults should be able to recognize a firearm and know the basics of how it functions. He recommends teaching your kids that if they see a gun “to stop, don’t touch it, leave the area, and tell an adult.”

“You have to understand that with children, even if you don’t have guns in your home, when your kids go to play at their friends’ homes, they might have guns in their homes,” Larsen says.

Larsen told me that the two steps everyone should know to safely handle a gun are first, to point it in a safe direction and second, to keep your finger off the trigger. 

“If you keep your gun pointing in a safe direction and you have a negligent discharge, it’s pointed in a safe direction. If you can keep your finger off the trigger, guns don’t go off on their own,” Larsen said.