A new coalition called Safe Arkansas is pushing free gun locks into the hands of families across the state, betting that a biometric lock box or a simple cable lock can keep a child from ever reaching a loaded firearm. The group is funded through the Roots and Wings Foundation and is working to bring partners together statewide to help families prevent children from accessing unsecured guns.
The effort comes as firearms have become the leading cause of death for children in Arkansas, and as roughly one-third of U.S. homes with children have a gun inside, according to KATV. Safe Arkansas is offering biometric gun lock boxes, cable locks and trigger locks as options for families looking to secure firearms when they are not in use.
Free Locks, No Questions Asked
In Little Rock, free gun locks are available through the Little Rock Police Department and Fire Department, as well as the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department. Families don’t need to prove they have children in the home to get one. “No, not at all. No questions asked,” Dr. Kristyn Jeffries, a pediatrician involved with Safe Arkansas, said of the process for obtaining a lock.
Jeffries said many Arkansas families own firearms for hunting, sport shooting or personal protection, and that Safe Arkansas isn’t aimed at taking guns away but at promoting practical solutions for securing them. Families can also request locks from pediatricians, and some offices may have them on hand through the Arkansas chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Jeffries, who regularly discusses safe firearm storage with families as part of routine health and safety guidance, put the stakes plainly: children should not be injured or killed by firearms.
A State With a Rising Death Toll
Anna Strong, director of the Arkansas chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, described Arkansas as one of the leading states in the nation for firearm deaths and said the rate of children dying from firearms is increasing. The numbers back her up. The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement found that the state’s firearm death rate among children under 18 jumped 64 percent, from 3.6 per 100,000 between 2016 and 2019 to 5.9 per 100,000 between 2020 and 2023, according to ACHI.
By 2023, Arkansas recorded 45 firearm deaths among children ages 1 to 17, a rate of 6.7 per 100,000 that ranked sixth-highest in the nation, per the same ACHI analysis. Nationally, the picture is more mixed: KFF reported the U.S. firearm death rate among children and adolescents actually fell from 3.5 per 100,000 in 2023 to 3.0 per 100,000 in 2024, though that figure remains above pre-pandemic levels. KFF also found that firearm deaths among U.S. youth rose 68 percent over the decade from 2014 to 2024, and that among the 44 percent of parents who keep a gun in a home with children, nearly a third said the weapon is stored loaded and nearly a third said it’s stored unlocked.
Storage Help in Mental Health Crises
For Jeffries, the stakes extend beyond accidental shootings. She said safe-storage resources can be especially important during mental health crises, and that providing safety plans and firearm locks has helped families of teenagers experiencing suicidal thoughts. She added that families have expressed gratitude for having those resources available during overwhelming periods when their child was hurting.
Little Rock has leaned on outside partnerships before to get locks into homes. The city previously partnered with Project ChildSafe, a national organization that is part of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, to provide donated gun locks statewide. A Yahoo News report on that expanded partnership noted the kits, which include locks and educational materials, are available free to anyone who wants them, without any questions asked.
Grassroots safe-storage pushes have surfaced elsewhere in the state too. Back in April 2020, Moms Demand Action volunteers in Jonesboro worked with local food pantries to slip Be Smart safe-storage pamphlets into boxes of food and emergency supplies, according to The Trace. By that May, pantries in the Jonesboro area had distributed more than 200 pamphlets and were asking for more.
Where Families Can Turn Next
Safe Arkansas is encouraging families who want more information to reach the Arkansas chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics through social media, and the coalition points families to HealthyChildren.org for guidance on safe firearm storage. The group is also collecting Arkansans’ stories about safe storage, including cases where having a lock or a plan in place helped avert a crisis.
