Public Health to Distribute 60,000 Free Gun Safety Locks in LA County

To address the public health crisis of gun violence, the Los Angeles County Office of Violence Prevention, housed in the Department of Public Health, has made 60,000 gun safety locks available to the public; free, no questions asked.

Free gun safety locks will initially be available at six county medical facilities:

• Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
• High Desert Regional Health Center
• Los Angeles General Medical Center
• Martin Luther King Jr. Outpatient Center
• Olive View-UCLA Medical Center
• Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center

Later this year, gun safety locks will also be made available at Los Angeles County libraries.

In Los Angeles County, a child is killed or injured by gun violence every 30 hours. A number of these incidents involved guns that were left loaded and unlocked. Across the country, an estimated 4.6 million children live in households with loaded and unlocked firearms.  Unlocked guns are used to hurt or kill others and also to harm oneself. In 2022, the county experienced more than 300 suicides involving firearms.

Details: lockedandunloaded.org.