[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 66 (Thursday, April 21, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E393-E394]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF THE KIMBERLY VAUGHAN FIREARM SAFE STORAGE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 21, 2022

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to introduce the 
Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act. This legislation takes 
important steps to keep our children and our communities safe from 
unsecured firearms.
  On May 18, 2018, Kimberly Vaughan was among eight students and two 
teachers who were shot and killed at Santa Fe High School in Texas. 
Thirteen others were wounded. The shooter was a 17-year-old who brought 
a shotgun and a .38 caliber pistol from his home to commit this heinous 
crime. Neither weapon was stored securely and placed the lives of all 
these students in jeopardy.
  Sadly, school shootings like the one that occurred in Santa Fe have 
become horrifyingly familiar. In 80 percent of school shootings 
involving a shooter under 18 years old, the gun was taken from the home 
of family or friends. Some of these shootings may have been prevented 
if the weapons were securely stored and made inaccessible to minors. 
Unsecured firearms also increase the risk of unintentional shootings 
and suicide.
  On average, eight children are killed every day by improperly stored 
or misused guns. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that if 
parents keep firearms in their home, all firearms should be locked, 
unloaded, and stored separately from ammunition. However, only 3 of 10 
adults in households with children report storing all guns unloaded and 
locked up. It is estimated that 4.6 million

[[Page E394]]

American children live in a home with at least one unlocked, loaded 
firearm.
  The Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act encourages responsible 
firearm storage to make our communities safer. This legislation would 
require the Department of Justice to establish and publish voluntary 
best practices for safe firearm storage. It requires a label or notice 
on most firearms at purchase that says, ``Safe Storage Saves Lives'' 
and includes the website where the Department of Justice's best 
practices can be found. It also requires Federal Firearms Licensees 
(FFLs) to have compatible safe storage devices available for purchase 
for every handgun, rifle, or shotgun that they sell. The bill 
authorizes $10 million in grants every year for 10 years to state, 
local, and tribal governments to distribute safe firearm storage 
devices. Finally, this legislation incorporates the Prevent Family Fire 
Act, authored by Congressman Mike Levin, which establishes a 10 percent 
tax credit to FFLs for safe storage devices sold for up to $400 to 
encourage the sale of these devices.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in keeping our children safe from 
unsecured firearms by supporting this important legislation.

                          ____________________