Mandatory storage laws are stupid and, at least in my opinion, unconstitutional. The idea that I should be required to store my guns in a certain way, regardless of my personal situation, is ridiculous. Especially since there are cases of young people using firearms to protect themselves from home invaders. The idea that these kids should have been victims instead of survivors is something no one should tolerate.
But I do think that gun storage is ultimately a good thing. While I have a different definition of “not in use” than anti-gunners do, I do think it’s a good idea to keep your guns locked up when you don’t need them for some reason.
Yet gun safes are expensive, and while some states are smart about offering tax credits for them, not every state does, which means people need alternatives.
And one Iowa county is trying to provide them.
Linn County Public Health is teaming up with the Cedar Rapids Police Department and Project ChildSafe to offer free gun locks through harm reduction vending machines across the county.
In June 2024, the Substance Misuse Committee of Linn County introduced seven vending machines providing free Naloxone and other supplies to combat increasing drug overdoses and STIs. Now, gun locks are being added to tackle gun violence and opioid overdoses simultaneously.
The report notes that from 2020 to 2024, Cedar Rapids saw 34 “gun-related deaths” and 144 injuries, and points to that as why these locks are needed.
For a city of 137,000, that sounds like remarkably low numbers, especially when “gun-related deaths” will include suicides in the mix. That’s a bad year, but this is over five years, and I can only wish my hometown had those numbers, and we’ve got less than half the people.
The idea of having machines around so people can just get a gun lock without interacting with the police is a smart move. I’m pretty sure at least some people might want gun locks, but as they have the guns illegally, they don’t want to face questions from law enforcement. While they shouldn’t have the guns in the first place, the fact is that many do, but would rather their kids not find the gun and screw around with it.
Gun locks are limited in their utility, though. People shouldn’t forget that. Gun locks are only useful to keep unauthorized hands from using the guns, so long as those unauthorized hands are hoping no one knows they’re messing with it. It won’t stop a burglar from stealing the gun–unless, maybe, it’s locked onto something because you used the gun lock a bit like a bike lock–but it will keep the kids from playing with something they should never play with.
I don’t want anyone to get the idea that a gun lock is really enough to keep your weapons properly secured.
But it’s a lot better than wishes.
If you’re in Cedar Rapids and you’re in need, the above link has a list of locations where they can be found. Share that list widely so no one has an excuse for not knowing how to get a gun lock.
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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