U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and 19 colleagues in the Senate appealed to the comptroller general of the U.S. to prepare an official government report on the measures that could be taken to address in-home gun access as a public health and safety issue.
The senators sent a letter asking for a Government Accountability Office report that assesses existing programs raising awareness of the potentially lethal risks of keeping guns in the home; identifies the impacts of those programs; and identifies federal agencies whose missions in public health, violence prevention, and public safety might overlap with a federal program on in-home gun safety.
“With more than 300 million guns in American homes, we write to request that the Government Accountability Office conduct a study to assess the efficacy of public health and safety programs designed to impact gun safety, including the storage and security of guns in households throughout our country,” the Senators said. “Too many families have suffered tragic losses and hardships as a result of gun deaths and injuries. This public health burden demands an assessment of potential actions by the federal government, including the possibility of robust partnerships with established nonprofits and provider organizations in the development of a public campaign aimed at informing physicians, clinicians, parents and families about the public health need to address this urgent issue.”
The senators further suggested it is the government's duty to protect its people, and that the threat posed from so many guns kept at home in various levels of security represents a threat to public security threat.
According to a Washington Post report, as of October, there had been 43 incidents of a toddler 3 years old or younger accessing a gun in the home and killing or injuring themselves or someone else.
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