City of Edmonds is latest to consider gun safety measures



EDMONDS, Wash. -- The city of Edmonds is the latest to consider gun safety measures.

City Council President Mike Nelson made the announcement at a local park full of children playing on a sunny day. These are the ones he hopes his proposal will protect.

"I'm proposing this gun legislation as a gun owner when the consequences are so severe," he said.

Heather Damron, with Moms Demand Action, said, "In the United States, 1.7 million children live with at least one unlocked loaded gun and every year hundreds of kids gain access to one of these irresponsibly stored firearms and use it to unintentionally or intentionally shoot themselves or someone else."

The proposed legislation would require guns to be locked up in homes.

And it's a topic of security that is circulating round and round in communities throughout our region.

In Seattle, gun owners could also be forced to pay up to $10,000 in fines if their firearms aren't kept in safes. That's according to Mayor Jenny Durkan's "Safe Storage" legislation that she handed to the City Council recently.

"This is not an anti-gun measure. This is a gun safety measure and I believe strongly in the Second Amendment. I believe in people's right to bear arms but any responsible gun owner knows they should keep their weapon locked," Durkan said.

The legislation will be considered in the City Council in the next few weeks and it will take effect 180 days after the mayor signs it into law.

And back in Snohomish County, Everett police are offering free gun locks. It's a campaign called "Lock It Everett" -- which goes along with several new programs meant to address youth and gang violence.

"At the end of every review, we ask, could this death have been prevented? And the answer is always yes," Damron said.