Project Child Safe on the Move

As we go to press, it’s been a busy few months for Project Child Safe’s fleet of 15 mobile classrooms as the vehicles spread out across the country, visiting nearly a dozen states and bringing firearm-safety education to as many as 150 communities per day.

With program launches from the Carolinas to Arizona, Project Child Safe had distributed more than 7 million safety kits in more than 40 states by the end of March, according to Bill Brassard, managing director of communications, safety, and education for the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the Project Child Safe director. The vans visited more than 9,000 communities in those states, Brassard points out.

A firearms safety kit consists of a cable-style gun lock and a brochure that discusses safe gun handling and secure storage. "Governors, lieutenant governors, U.

S. attorneys, and law enforcement on all levels continue to receive the program with enthusiasm," Brassard said. "We have enjoyed a high level of cooperation." Demand for the safety kits continues to be strong, Brassard observed. "As the program has moved throughout the country, the demand from the public for the gun locks and safety kits has remained very high, and there’s no sign that it’s slowing down," he said. "The Project Child Safe formula of visiting communities, partnering with government and community leaders as well as the media to provide important safety information has proven itself over and over." Recognizing NSSF’s groundbreaking and highly successful efforts to promote safe firearms storage through its Project Home Safe program, the U.

S. Department of Justice (DOJ) last year selected the foundation to administer "Project Child Safe," anew and broader nationwide program under President Bush’s "Project Safe Neighborhoods" banner. Under a $50 million DOJ grant, NSSF coordinates publicity, logistics, inventory, and distribution with partnering government and law-enforcement agencies to get firearms safety kits into the hands of firearms owners in all 50 states and five U. S. territories.

The recent Southern tour resulted in one of the program’s busiest weeks ever, when it launched in four states in one week last February. Project Child Safe’s "Phase One" goal is the distribution of 19.2 million locks. "Clearly, Project Child Safe reaffirms the firearms industry’s commitment to safe and responsible use of its products," said Brassard. Editor Keith Lawrence Technical