Written by HANNAH SCHOENBAUM

A safe firearm storage campaign launched Monday by the North Carolina governor’s administration aims to counter a recent surge in gun thefts and shooting injuries by making safety features available to more gun owners statewide.

The initiative will distribute free gun locks starting this week and equip local law enforcement, doctors and school personnel with resources they can use to teach community members how to prevent children from accessing guns.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said he expects many gun owners will be receptive to the initiative because people do not want their guns stolen or their children accidentally shot.

“When we own a gun, we need to make sure that it is not misused — it’s our responsibility,” he said.

Cooper has made frequent use of the bully pulpit to promote his policy goals in the two months since a state lawmaker’s party switch from Democrat to Republican gave the GOP a supermajority in the state legislature and diminished the power of his veto stamp.

As part of the initiative, an interactive map will identify nearby locations where someone can drop off their firearm for temporary storage if they are going out of town or have children visiting their home for a short period of time.

State Department of Public Safety Deputy Secretary William Lassiter said he hopes the storage program — a partnership with several gun dealers around the state — will reduce suicides by allowing people to temporarily remove a gun from their home if they or a family member are considering suicide.

The campaign, which Lassiter said has a total budget of just over $2.5 million, comes the year after a 15-year-old boy killed five people and injured two more in a shooting rampage in Raleigh.

Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson said adults have a serious responsibility to prevent tragedies like that mass shooting and the 148 aggravated assaults she said were committed in Raleigh by juveniles with a firearm since 2022.

“We witnessed the tragic mass shooting of five individuals that was committed by a juvenile who had full access to firearms and ammunition,” Patterson said. “The reality is, each of those deaths and the countless numbers of assaults and suicides that occurred in this city could’ve all been prevented … if the weapon used had been properly secured.”

She urged gun owners to stop making careless mistakes, such as leaving their guns in unlocked cars or on the seats of their vehicles. Last year, 582 firearms were stolen from cars in the capital city, she said, and 179 have been stolen so far this year.

The initiative has purchased 25,000 cable locks, which retail for about $7 to $13, and 200 gun safes that it will distribute for free between now and January, Lassiter said. The state is currently applying for federal funding to continue the campaign.

A bipartisan proposal that has stalled in the state House could build upon the campaign by providing a temporary sales tax exemption for safe storage equipment and a tax credit for residents who buy that equipment.

 

Photo via AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum.

 

Related Stories
‹
North Carolina Governor Vetoes Another Set of Bills, Including One on Guns in Private Schools
Gov. Josh Stein cleared his desk Wednesday of bills passed to him from the North Carolina General Assembly last month, vetoing three.
NC Governor Vetoes Doing Away with Pistol Purchase Permits
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a bill Monday that would do away with the permit someone must obtain from a county sheriff before buying a pistol, turning back a key agenda item of conservative gun-rights supporters. Cooper’s veto was expected, and an override will be difficult for Republicans who control […]
North Carolina Gov. Stein Vetoes His First Bills. They Are on Concealed Carry and Immigration
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein vetoed bills to let adults carry concealed handguns without a permit and force state agencies and local sheriffs more active in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
North Carolina Governor Pushes Gun Safety in Keynote Speech
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON Sensible policies can be approved to reduce gun violence across the country without threatening the rights of responsible firearm owners, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday, recalling last month’s mass shooting in Raleigh that left five people dead. The Democratic governor made the comments in the keynote address at […]
NC Democrats Seek Bipartisan Gun Laws After Mass Shooting
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina Democratic legislators pleaded with the General Assembly’s Republican majority on Tuesday to consider gun safety and mental health measures, citing last week’s shootings in Raleigh that left five people dead. Democratic lawmakers, one a resident of the east Raleigh subdivision where the shooting rampage began last Thursday, said […]
North Carolina Court: GOP Can Narrow Governor’s Appointment Powers on Some Boards
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Decade-long political quarrels over legislative and executive powers in North Carolina advanced Wednesday as a state appeals court permitted the Republican-controlled General Assembly to chip away at the Democratic governor’s appointment authority for several key commissions. The judges also said lawmakers went too far remaking other boards. A […]
UNC Women's Lacrosse Coach, Former Soccer Star Welcomed Into Order of the Long Leaf Pine
The governor inducted six people to the state's Order of the Long Leaf Pine on Friday, including two accomplished UNC sports figures.
North Carolina Governor Signs Criminal Justice Bill Into Law After Ukrainian Refugee’s Death
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein signed a criminal justice bill into law in response to the stabbing death of a Ukrainian refugee in Charlotte.
A Democratic Governor, A Republican Legislature: How Josh Stein Navigates North Carolina Politics
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein has taken an unusual approach with Republicans in his first eight months leading the highly competitive state.
Latest Declaration by Gov. Stein Opens More Relief Opportunities for Orange County Flood Victims
Nearly a full month removed from Tropical Depression Chantal's significant rain and subsequent flooding, victims in Orange County and other impacted regions have a new way to seek individual relief.
›