Agenda Item # 3.2 - Kelly Traver | Received 09/07/2022CAUTION: This email originated from an External Source. Please use proper judgment and caution when opening
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From:Kelly Traver
To:All Council Members; City Clerk
Subject:EXTERNAL - Request for safe storage of firearms
Date:Wednesday, September 7, 2022 12:27:07 AM
Dear Mayor and Councilmembers,
I am a retired physician and a member of the Silicon Valley Alliance for Gun Safety and Moms Demand
Action for Gun Sense in America. I am writing to ask that a Safe Storage of Firearms ordinance be adopted
in Gilroy to reduce gun violence and improve gun safety for everyone. A safe storage ordinance would state
that all firearms in homes be securely stored in a locked container or disabled with a locking device to
prevent discharge unless it is being carried on the authorized individual’s person. The majority of towns in
Santa Clara county have adopted this ordinance and I am hoping Gilroy will do the same. Cities and towns
across California are adopting safe storage ordinances due to deficiencies in the current California Penal
Code 25100 which fails to define what “safe storage” is, while also failing to apply it to all homes (it only
applies to homes where one might “reasonably expect” a child to enter). This has led to many small child
unintentional deaths and teen gun suicides from unsecured firearms. It has also allowed easy access to
stealing unsecured firearms in home burglaries (where guns then become crime guns) and it also increases
the chances for school mass shootings. 80-85% of school mass shootings are due to a current student or
former student of the school who access an unsecured firearm. Since 2020, firearms deaths are now the
number one cause of death in the United States. Research shows that safe storage can reduce the incidence
of firearm deaths in our youth by 85% but an authorized user can still access their gun in seconds if needed.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely, Kelly Traver
Sent from my iPhone