The Atlanta City Council approved legislation Tuesday to request that the Mayor’s Office of Violence Reduction and the Atlanta Police Department develop a program to provide free safety lock boxes to gun owners.
The legislation, introduced by Councilmember Antonio Lewis, is designed to deter accidental shootings and reduce the theft of unsecured firearms and related crimes.
“Instead of being reactionary, our office looked around the country for the best legislation so that we could be more proactive in reducing the kind of crime that’s occurring in Atlanta, including car break-ins and gun violence, without hurting folks financially or physically,” Lewis said when he introduced the legislation.
As of October 2022, Atlanta has had 26 self-inflicted gunshot wound cases, five of which were children. The Atlanta Police Department has reported that more than 200 unsecured guns have been stolen from cars during 2021.