Cape Girardeau area leaders encourage gun locks, security measures

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs distributes gun locks in an effort to prevent suicides, according to Jennifer Becking, suicide prevention coordinator at the VA in Poplar Bluff.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Gun violence has captured the attention and worry of people in and around Cape Girardeau.

The shooting that left two injured at Cape Central High School’s graduation ceremony in May fueled bubbling grassroots awareness efforts.

Shortly after the graduation shooting at the Show Me Center, Mayor Stacy Kinder announced plans for a Gun Violence Task Force. Since then, other shootings have occurred, including the death of Linard Thomas on Sunday, July 14, at a commercial property on Broadway.

While the task force and local advocacy groups work to bring awareness and potential solutions for policy considerations that coincide with the Second Amendment, advocates across the spectrum in the gun rights and control debate can agree that proper gun safekeeping is one component to reducing gun violence.

While not the answer to prevent all violent crimes, and perhaps not even recent local ones, keeping guns secure can help prevent weapon theft, misuse and some suicides, gun and safety advocates say.

Local organizations including the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center, the Juvenile Office and the local chapter of Moms Demand Action are working to make gun security more accessible.

The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center gave away gun locks for the first time at a public event Friday, July 12. The decision, health department director Autumn Grim said, comes on the heels of the U.S. surgeon general’s June declaration that firearm violence is an American public health crisis.

Grim said the health center has only a small number of gun locks, but the department is looking to ramp up education and gun lock access going forward.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides gun locks free of charge to people and organizations as part of the VA’s Office of Suicide Prevention.

Moms Demand Action is looking to organize several events in the coming months where gun locks will be available. Their emphasis is protecting children and youth from gun violence.

“I feel that it is important that we have safe storage in our homes and around our kids,” said Leslie Washington, survivor membership lead with Moms Demand Action. “A lot of times kids will get an unsecured firearm from home and potentially put it in their backpack and take it to school. I tell people I don’t want to take your guns. I just want you to be safe when you have your guns, and we need to get them out of the hands of domestic abusers and things like that. So I just think we must practice safe storage and safety at all costs.”

Washington, a survivor of gun violence, organized a “Wear Orange” gun violence awareness event June 7 at Peace Park on Broadway in downtown Cape Girardeau. The event was held just a few blocks from the most recent shooting. The idea behind the orange is that it represents Hunter’s Orange, and it represents gun safety.

Be SMART, an organization created in 2015 to keep children safe from gun violence, states:

q 4.6 million children in the U.S. live in a household with at least one loaded and unlocked gun;

q Firearms are the leading cause of deaths for American children and teens;

q 350 children in the U.S. unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else every year;

q 700 children in the U.S. die by gun suicide every year;

q Three out of four school shooters acquired their firearm from the home of a parent or close relative.

Gun locks can prevent theft as well as keep them out of children’s hands. The Associated Press reported in May that the rate of guns stolen from cars tripled in the last decade, making them the largest source of gun thefts in the country.

Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives director Steve Dettelbach told the AP that the stolen guns are “going to violent people who can’t pass a background check. They’re going to drug dealers, and they’re going to hurt and kill the people who live in the next town, the next county or the next state.”

Nearly 112,000 guns were reported stolen in 2022, almost half from cars, the AP reported.

Sgt. Cody Windbigler, a public information officer and community liaison for the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office, said the department has given out gun locks in the past. The locks are typically donated from various groups, he said, including the National Rifle Association and gun-makers.

"Many factors must be considered when deciding where and how to store guns, with a person’s specific circumstances playing a significant role,” Windbigler said. “Numerous gun storage and locking devices are available, including those that attach directly to the firearm. However, mechanical locking devices, like the built-in safeties on guns, can fail and should not replace safe gun handling practices and adherence to all gun safety rules.

“Ultimately, it is the gun owner’s responsibility to take steps to prevent unauthorized persons, especially children, from handling or accessing their firearms. There are various options for achieving this safely. The chosen storage method will depend on the individual’s home situation and security needs."

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs coordinates the delivery of free gun locks to area individuals who want them. The VA, for example, gave several free locks to the Cape Girardeau County Juvenile Office for distribution.

For the VA, the primary interest in making sure guns are locked away is suicide prevention, according to Jennifer Becking, suicide prevention coordinator at the VA in Poplar Bluff.

“Access to lethal means is a risk factor for suicide, so lethal-means safety is something we talk about any time we have the chance,” Becking said. “Lethal-means safety in this context is any action that puts time and space between a person with thoughts of suicide and their ability to access and use a method of suicide. It is one of the few population-level interventions shown to help decrease suicide rates. We focus a lot on gun locks because the Veteran population is more likely to use a firearm as a means of suicide than non-Veterans.”

The VA’s Suicide Prevention office states that 72% of veteran suicides in 2023 were by firearm, compared to 52% by non-veteran adults in the U.S.

Becking said veterans and agencies that serve veterans can contact the VA and ask for the Suicide Prevention Office if they want to inquire about getting gun locks.

There are different types of gun locks on the market. Generally, the ones given away are cable locks, which are threaded through a gun so they cannot fire.

Some gun advocates say gun locks can prevent self-defense in immediate threat incidents. If the free cable locks are not best suited for those measures, there are several commercially available safes and locks that include fingerprint readers, combinations and different devices emphasizing quick access.