Every year, hundreds of children are injured or killed by unsecured handguns. Some new products are hoping to reduce those numbers.
It’s estimated that there are currently more than 7 million handguns in homes with children ages 12 and younger.
According to the gun safety advocacy group Everytown, at least 126 children have been shot with unsecured guns, guns left out, unlocked and loaded so far this year.
“All you have to do is look at the news pretty much every week and see a situation where somebody has chosen to do nothing,” Veri-Fire Co-Founder Matt Barido said.
Veri-Fire is a firearms safety company made up of gun owners and veterans.
Barido said the big question for all gun owners is – how do you remain ready and responsible at the same time?
“Guardian is an aftermarket accessory that you attach to your semi-automatic handgun. It physically restricts access to the trigger. This is no different than a quick access safe. It’s just mounted to your gun and goes with your gun,” he said.
Barido said Guardian can be fitted to more than 150 different handgun models and allows for up to five authorized users on each gun
“The primary authentication mechanism for the Guardian is the fingerprint. The enrollment process takes about seven seconds, once you are enrolled in the device, you don’t have to enroll again,” he said.
Another company, Sentinl, is also releasing a similar biometric product called Identilock.
Gun manufacturers and law enforcement are hesitant to comment until the products officially hit the market and they’ve had time to review them.
To be clear, Veri-Fire still recommends keeping your firearm unloaded and locked up in a safe when not in use.
But, if you need to have your gun out and ready, they say this could prevent some horrible accidents.
Guardian and Identilock are both available for pre-order right now.
Identilock costs $240 and will ship this fall.
Guardian costs $200 and is expected to start shipping early next year.