Reps. Dean and Menefee Introduce the Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Madeleine Dean (PA-04) and Christian D. Menefee (TX-18) introduced the Kimberly Vaughn Firearm Safe Storage Act to raise awareness and expand education on safe firearm storage. The bill is named in honor of Kimberly Vaughan, one of the 10 lives tragically stolen during the May 18, 2018 mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas. Kimberly was sitting in her art class when a classmate opened fire using firearms taken from his father that had been left unsecured in the home. Unsecured firearms contribute to preventable injuries, deaths, and gun thefts across the United States each year. Hundreds of thousands of firearms are stolen annually from homes and vehicles, with many later recovered in connection to violent crimes, including robberies and homicides. Research has consistently found that safe firearm storage practices, including the use of gun safes, lock boxes, and trigger locks, can reduce accidental shootings, youth access to firearms, and firearm suicides. “As lawmakers, we have a responsibility to keep our communities, especially our kids, safe — yet the leading cause of death for minors in the U.S. is gun violence,” Rep. Dean said. “Unsafe storage and unsupervised firearm use is an enormous danger to our children and teens. The Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act will better equip legal gun owners with safe storage practices. I’m thankful to Congressman Menefee for his leadership on this legislation. We can save lives.” “Safe firearm storage is one of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent gun violence, suicides, accidental shootings, and to keep stolen weapons from ending up in the wrong hands.” Rep. Menefee said. “That’s why I am proud to team up with Rep. Dean on this commonsense bill to increase education and awareness around safe firearm storage so we can prevent further tragedies like the Santa Fe High School shooting and keep our communities safe.” “Unsecured firearms that are unlocked and loaded in the home increase the risk of intentional and unintentional gun violence. More than 73 percent of children aged 5 to 14 know where their parents keep their firearms, and more than a third have handled those guns without their parents’ knowledge. Moreover, over 90 percent of guns used in accidental shootings of children that resulted in death were left unsecured. The Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act will educate, encourage, and incentivize secure firearm storage practices to keep all our loved ones safe. Brady thanks Representative Menefee for championing this lifesaving bill in his first year in office that will prevent unauthorized access to deadly weapons and reduce instances of family fire and other gun violence,” Mark Collins, Director of Federal Policy, Brady United said. The Kimberly Vaughn Firearm Safe Storage Act would require federally licensed firearm manufacturers, importers, and dealers to provide written safe storage information and a safe storage device with every firearm sold. It would also direct the Department of Justice to develop and distribute best practices for safe firearm storage and establish a grant program to help communities access safe storage devices. In addition, the bill would create a federal tax credit to make firearm safes and storage devices more affordable for American families seeking to responsibly own a firearm. Read the full text of the bill here . Rep. Madeleine Dean is a mother, grandmother, attorney, professor, former four-term member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and U.S. Representative for the Fourth District of Pennsylvania. ###