Brady Applauds Representatives Levin, Davis, Boyle, Stefanik, Schrier, and Turner for the Introduction of the Bipartisan Prevent Family Fire Act of 2019

Washington, D.C., October 30, 2019 — Brady applauds Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA), Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA), and Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) for the introduction of the bipartisan Prevent Family Fire Act.

Every day, eight children and teens are unintentionally shot by an unsecured firearm and nearly 60 Americans die by suicide with a gun. These are devastating incidents of Family Fire. Family Fire is a shooting involving an improperly stored or misused gun found in the home that results in death or injury. Unintentional shootings, suicides, and intentional shootings all fall into this category. Family Fire is one of the most preventable contributors to injury-related deaths in the United States.

Brady Vice President of Programs Kyleanne Hunter stated,

“Serving in combat as a Marine, we were always vigilant against Friendly Fire to protect our brothers and sisters in arms. Similarly, civilian gun owners must do whatever we can to protect against Family Fire. This is an issue we can all agree on. Family Fire is preventable and yet every day, eight children and teens are injured or killed due to an unlocked or unsupervised gun in the home. Securing firearms provides a barrier not only to unintentional shootings, but also when an individual is contemplating suicide, giving them crucial moments to reconsider or for loved ones to intervene. By providing incentives for retailers to sell more firearm safe storage devices, we can help save lives. Brady is proud to support Representatives Levin, Davis, Boyle, Stefanik, Schrier, and Turner for the introduction of this life-saving legislation.”

Representative Mike Levin (D-CA) stated,

“There is an epidemic of gun violence in our country, and we must come together – both Democrats and Republicans – to save lives. We need to do more to address gun violence, and this bipartisan bill is a strong step we can take in the meantime to reduce unintentional discharges, suicides, and school shootings. I am incredibly proud to introduce this legislation with colleagues from both sides of the aisle, and I’ll continue to fight every single day to advance legislation that reduces gun violence.”

The Prevent Family Fire Act embraces a market approach to increasing safe firearm storage. It incentivizes retailers to expend more resources on marketing and selling safe storage devices by providing a tax credit for sales. As a percentage credit, it further incentivizes those retailers to maintain a broader stock of safe storage devices and to promote the most secure devices.

Brady has long prioritized a comprehensive approach to ending the epidemic of gun violence, including preventing incidents of Family Fire. To learn more about Family Fire and Brady’s efforts to unite gun owners and non-gun owners alike to prevent gun violence, visit bradyunited.org/endfamilyfire.