Wednesday, April 12, 2000
Clermont ready to offer gun locks
BY Tom O'Neill
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Clermont is poised to become the first local Ohio county to offer a countywide giveaway of gun locks.
A shipment of 5,000 key-activated trigger locks arrived Tuesday at the Miami Township fire department. They are expected to be available to the public through each police and fire department in the county by Monday.
Firefighter Harry Scott spearheaded the grant request to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a group to which major gun manufacturers belong.
“They just arrived,” Mr. Scott said Tuesday. “The goal is to try to prevent needless tragedies. These are preventable accidents.”
The locks typically cost $10 to $14 in stores. They are connected to the trigger mechanism and prevent the gun from firing.
The program is voluntary. Residents can pick up two for free, and pay $2 for each additional lock. Mr. Scott helped raise $3,500 through local corporate sponsors and firefighter and police associations to finance 5,000 more locks.
Two years ago, Miami Township began a small-scale giveaway that was prompted, in part, by a schoolyard shooting in Arkansas. The program, also spearheaded by Mr. Scott, saw initial interest but then requests fell off.
On Saturday, a township youth, Jake Gilligan, 17, was fatally shot in the head at the home of a friend, Dan Carnes, also 17. No charges have been filed, and police have not recovered the weapon.
The most common incidents in which gun locks are effective, po lice say, are accidental discharges, especially those involving children, and thefts of guns.
Several Tristate communities, including Cincinnati and Covington, have similar programs.
Butler Sheriff Department Major Anthony Dwyer said he didn't know the grant program Clermont used but was eager to learn about it.
“It's a sign of the times,” Major Dwyer said. “It's akin to other safety issues, like car seats. Weapons have become so prevalent. And I think it's a positive step.”
Cincinnati Councilman Charlie Winburn agrees.
He led an effort to raise $60,000 through corporate donations, which City Council matched, to start a lock giveaway. As of Tuesday, 202 have been issued, he said. The locks are available through Mr. Winburn's office or the city's safety department.
“It's about the safety for all of our citizens of Cincinnati, by encouraging them to volunteer,” Mr. Winburn said Tuesday. “I would love to see something countywide.”
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