Barbara Boxer: “we would all agree that we need to protect our children from violence. However, too many of our children continue to be…”

“we would all agree that we need to protect our children from violence. However, too many of our children continue to be injured or killed by guns. That is why I am introducing the Child Safety Device Act. This is a very simple measure. Every handgun sold must come with a child safety device. This can be a lock using a key or combination, a device that locks electronically, a lock box, or technology that is built into the gun itself. With this safety measure in place, we can reduce the number of accidental gun deaths among our children. More than 22 million children live in homes with guns. And more than 3.3 million of them live in homes where the guns are always or sometimes kept loaded and unlocked. The result is the accidental deaths of 182 young people each year--that's one every 48 hours. We ``childproof'' our medicine bottles; we put gates up near stairs; we make sure that toys are not toxic. But we don't require that guns come with safety devices. We should. And to ensure that those devices are effective, my bill requires that the Consumer Product Safety Commission establish standards for their design, manufacture, and performance. When parents use a child safety device, they should have confidence that it works as intended. The Child Safety Device Act will improve the safety of our children-- and it will help save lives.”