News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Michigan State Police Alpena Post Community Service Trooper Jason Kunath fits a cable lock onto a handgun.

ALPENA — June is Gun Safety Awareness Month, an important topic for the many hunters throughout Northeast Michigan.

According to Pew Research, around four in 10 households in the U.S. have a firearm. In addition, the University of Michigan Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention reported that one in three homes with children under 18 have a firearm.

“Guns are truly everywhere,” Michigan State Police (MSP) Seventh District Public Information Officer Spl/Lt. Ashley Miller said.

Gun Safety Awareness Month is especially about protecting children from injury or death due to unsecured firearms.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bill 79 in April 2023, and the law went into effect as Public Act 17 of 2023 on Feb. 13, 2024, which requires an individual to follow specified safe storage requirements for firearms when they reasonably know that a minor is likely to be present on the premises.

Those safe storage options can include cable locks, trigger locks, lock boxes, out of home storage, and gun safes or cabinets, Miller said. While in storage, guns should not be loaded and ammunition should be kept separate from firearms.

Every MSP post has cable locks on hand for those who need them, Miller said. The MSP Alpena Post has them for free, Community Service Trooper Jason Kunath said.

Cable locks snake through the ejection port and loading port of a gun, making it impossible to load a magazine or fire a bullet while the cable is locked in place.

Trigger locks have a combination or key lock. There’s a bolt that goes in from either side, Kunath said. Once you turn the combination and squeeze the lock together, the trigger of the gun cannot be accessed.

Kunath stressed the importance of teaching kids about the importance of gun safety.

“It’s common for people to have a firearm in the home,” he said. “A lot of people around here are avid hunters, so they’re going to be there. Their kids need to know the importance of it as well.”

Miller added that hiding guns is not enough. Kids will go searching to find them.

“It’s the parents’ responsibility to have the tough conversations with their kids,” she said.

Three in four children ages 5 to 14 know where firearms are kept in their home, according to the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention. One in five report handling a firearm in the home without their parents’ knowledge.

If someone in your household is thinking about harming themselves or others using a firearm, there are a couple of steps you can take, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Lock all firearms and give the key to a family member or friend. Disassemble firearms and give critical parts (like the firing pin or slide) to a family member or friend. Finally, consider storing firearms off-site, like in a secure self storage unit that permits firearms or in a bonded warehouse for gun storage.

If you are thinking of purchasing a gun, make sure that you take some kind of training on it, Kunath said. Whether it’s earning a concealed pistol license or taking hunter safety, make sure that you know what to do before handling a weapon for the first time.

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.