Los Angeles County officials are distributing 60,000 free cable gun locks in hopes that the devices will save lives.
“In 2022, more than 300 residents died by gun suicide and 510 residents died after being shot by someone with a gun,” Barbara Ferrer, director of the L.A. County Public Health Department, said at a Tuesday news conference in Downey.
The gun locks will initially be available this year at six county medical facilities, county authorities said. They are expected to be available later at L.A. County libraries, no questions asked.
Ferrer noted there are more than 400 million guns in the U.S., gun locks and other safety measures could be critical to reducing firearm-related violence.
The locks use a steel cable that is looped through the weapon to prevent it from firing.
Similar to a bike lock, it’s opened with a key.
“A woman who experiences domestic violence is five times more likely to be murdered by her abuser if they have access to a gun,” Ferrer said.
The 2023 mass shooting at a Monterrey Park dance studio that left 11 people dead and nine others injured put the spotlight back on local gun violence.
In L.A. County, a child is killed or injured by gun violence every 30 hours, often from guns left loaded and unlocked, Ferrer said. Many who survive suffer serious and lifelong injuries, including spinal cord damage, doctors say.
In 1993, Rudy Nuñez was 16 when he was shot in the neck while in a car with his friend, paralyzing him from the chest down. He now works with other gun violence survivors.
“It means a lot to help people with spinal cord injury to show them life is not over, there’s still life after injury," Nuñez said. "Providing free gun locks and educating the community about gun safety will keep our families safe.”
Free gun safety locks will initially be available at six county medical facilities:
