Columbus will provide 5,000 free padlocks and lock boxes to city residents

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An example of a standard padlock, surrounded by guns.

An example of a standard padlock, surrounded by guns.

Members of the Columbus City Council, City Police and Fire Departments, and Columbus Public Health officials are leading a joint effort to provide 5,000 free gun locks and safes/padlocks for firearms to city residents.

A press conference to publicize the programs at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Mitchell J. Brown Fire Station, 222 Greenlawn Ave., on the south side of town.

Gun locks, which are braided steel cables with a keyed lock, will be available to city residents at any city Columbus Division fire station between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Columbus Public Health will provide free gun safes to city residents on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1393 E. Broad St. For more information on receiving a free gun safe , contact lockssavelives@columbus.gov or Corey Ball at 614-645-1941

For more information about the gun locks and boxes program, go to columbus.gov/gunsafety.

Columbus gun safety efforts face legal challenge

At a press conference in April, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein looks at security camera footage of an incident in January where a child found and discharged a gun at a private home. The owner of the gun was sued in April under the city's gun laws, which have since been stayed by an ongoing lawsuit.

At a press conference in April, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein looks at security camera footage of an incident in January where a child found and discharged a gun at a private home. The owner of the gun was sued in April under the city’s gun laws, which have since been stayed by an ongoing lawsuit.

The effort to promote gun safety comes as gun violence has become the number one cause of death for all children and teens – and as Columbus battles a court case that prevents it from enforcing what He calls the “common sense” gun safety laws that City Council passed in December.

In addition to the safe storage of guns, the council approved an ordinance banning certain gun magazines of 30 rounds or more in what some city officials see as an attempt to help mass shootings by limiting the amount of ammunition available while allowing people to protect themselves. But some gun rights advocates call the move a gun control override, and at least one area gun store was selling magazines with 29 rounds and a plastic cartridge to get around it.

On April 4, Matthew Rivas, 28, pleaded guilty to two counts of careless storage of a firearm and one count of child endangerment after a child found on January 27 a loaded gun between the cushions of a couch in a West Side apartment and shot him. just missing his face. A Franklin County Municipal Court judge sentenced him to 10 days in jail and two years probation.

It was the first, and so far only, test of the Safe Storage Act.

On April 25, Delaware County Common Pleas Judge David M. Gormley issued a preliminary injunction against the case after the right-wing Buckeye Institute filed a lawsuit against the city. Earlier attempts by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to seek a preliminary injunction failed or failed in Franklin or Fairfield counties, where the majority of the city and a small portion of the city. Part of Columbus also extends into southern Delaware County.

What if I don’t live in Columbus? Where can I get a free gun lock?

Here are some of the law enforcement agencies in Central Ohio that have previously reported the availability of gun locks or lock boxes. Most are available to residents of these communities. You can also contact the law enforcement agency serving you for more information.

  • Delaware County Sheriff’s Office (county residents only) 740-833-2834

  • Dublin Police 614-889-1112

  • Grove City Police 614-277-1710

  • Hilliard Police 614-876-7361

  • Licking County Sheriff’s Office (county residents) 740-670-5555

  • Madison Township Police 614-836-5355

  • Pataskala Police 740-927-5701

  • Pickerington Police Department 614-575-6911

  • Reynoldsburg Police 614-301-2436

  • Upper Arlington Police 614-583-5160

  • Worthington Police Department 614-436-8634

mferench@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus to provide 5,000 free locks and lockboxes to residents

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