By: José Niño
With Democrats in control of the executive and legislative branches, gun grabbers are eager to put gun control bills before a vote.
One bill they will be pushing is called “Ethan’s Law.” This bill was introduced on February 3, 2021 by Connecticut Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal. Under “Ethan’s Law,” gun owners in households with children under the age of 18 would be forced to keep their firearms locked when they’re not using them. The federal legislation would also feature financial incentives for states to adopt their own policies.
This bill was introduced with a litany of other gun grabs, such as universal background checks and red flag confiscation orders. Cam Edwards of Bearing Arms noted that this is not the first time a “safe storage” measure has been introduced. “Ethan’s Law” is based on a measure that was passed in the Connecticut General Assembly and mandated that all households with young children have their firearms locked.
The federal version of “Ethan’s Law” was first introduced by Connecticut Congresswoman Rose DeLauro in 2019. It received 109 co-sponsors but did not end up being passed. Even if it passed the House at the time, the bill would have likely died in the Republican-controlled Senate.
“This political movement has really come of age,” Blumenthal said to reporters during an online press conference discussing this most recent bill. “To put it very simply, the grip of the gun lobby on Congress has been broken. We face a new day here when it comes to gun-violence prevention. This measure is the first in a series of common-sense steps, but it has powerful justification on its own.”
Contrary to what the anti-gun media would have you believe, gun owners are responsible when it comes to how they handle their firearms. Many proactively take measures to secure their firearms from children in their household. All of this is done without the state intervening and imposing regulations on lawful gun owners.
What’s more, there’s significant evidence that firearm storage mandates aren’t great for maintaining public safety. Research from Dr. John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center shows that firearm storage laws “effectively disarm citizens in a time of urgency.”
Lott demonstrated in a study for the Journal of Law and Economics that in states with mandatory firearms storage laws, there were more than 300 more murders and roughly 4,000 more rape incidents on an annual basis.
What we observe here is a law that makes it more difficult for people to defend themselves in potentially lethal situations where every second counts. One consequence of such laws is the potential for people to be unable to access their firearm quick enough to deter criminals because it was inconveniently locked away because the law says so.
Criminals do not care about these kinds of laws, whereas the law-abiding will comply and put themselves at a major disadvantage in the case a criminal breaks into their home and the victim(s) cannot get a hold of their weapon in a timely manner.
Yes, storing guns safely is part of responsible gun ownership. But it should not be imposed on individuals through state action. Individuals and families are more than capable of finding a non-state alternative to securing their firearms in a way that’s safe and effectie for everyone.
José Niño is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Sign up for his mailing list here. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. Get his e-book, The 10 Myths of Gun Control, here.