People keep firearms in their homes for everything from sport shooting to home defense. With that in mind, it’s important to practice good gun safety. Washington County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Jared Schneider says one way to keep family members safe with guns in the house is to never keep the guns loaded. He adds it’s a good practice to always store ammunition in a different location than the weapons.
He also said the best way to keep children safe when there are guns in the house is to talk to them about it, making sure they know the dangers and what to do if they find a gun. Finally, if people do have loaded guns in the house, Schneider stressed the importance of keeping the weapons locked up in a place where they won’t be easily accessible by other people, including children. He said there are many types of safes with both locks and codes and even some with finger print locks.