'Accept The Responsibilities': Gun Safety & Proper Storage Emphasized Following Children's Deaths
DENVER (CBS4) - Within days of each other, two young children in Colorado have died after getting their hands on firearms; a 3-year-old boy died on South Pecos Street on April 17; a 6-year-old boy died in Fort Collins from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 10.
Despite legislation being passed to prevent deaths like this from happening, advocates on both sides say it really comes down to parents being responsible.
"If we want these freedoms, we have to accept the responsibilities that come with these freedoms," said Edgar Antillon, a co-founder of Guns for Everyone. "It's not accidental. This is more of a negligent thing. Parents being negligent with their firearms, not being responsible."
Abbey Winter, a volunteer with the Colorado chapter of Moms Demand Action said deaths like these are 100% preventable.
"These children have the right to live, and that's on the adults to prevent access to these firearms," Winter said.
Antillon said having that freedom to carry a gun means taking steps to properly secure them.
"Part of it is doing something as simple as having a basic lock," Antillon said. "There are so many options out there for securing your firearm."
Under Colorado law passed in 2021, gun owners must keep their guns in a safe if there are children under 18 in the house or face misdemeanor charges.
"It could be a code safe. It could be ideally a biometric safe, and you can go so far as to have those secured or bolted to your wall, so that the safe can't then be removed by any older children," Winter said.
Both Winter and Antillon acknowledged that firearms are dangerous, but said safety is possible, and through proper education, deaths like these can prevented.
"It's up to the parents to be responsible with the firearms, it's up to those parents to lock those guns up, or at least make them inaccessible for those people who shouldn't have access to these firearms," said Antillon.
Most gun purchases do come with a gun lock. Many organizations like Moms Demand Action also give out gun locks for free.