Be Smart. Be Safe. Comply with the Law.
To the Birmingham & Berkley First congregation,
The Church & Society Ministry is offering this gun safety reminder. On February 13, 2024, the Michigan Gun Safe Storage law becomes effective, and compliance is mandatory. The primary purpose of the law is to protect the most vulnerable among us, our children, from unintentional injury or death from a firearm.
The law requires gun owners to keep firearms in gun safes/other secure locked containers or keep them unloaded with a trigger lock or cable lock to prevent accidental firing if the firearms are in a home or other building where minors under 18 could access them.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports, that during 2003–2021, a total of 1,262 fatal unintentional firearm injury cases among children aged 0–17 years. Children aged 0–10 years accounted for 43% of unintentional firearm injury deaths. The majority (85.5%) of firearm victims were fatally injured at a house or apartment, including 55.6% in their own home. Among all child victims of unintentional fatal firearm injuries, the most common precipitating circumstances were the shooter playing with or showing the firearm to another person.
