Michigan to offer free gun locks to help owners comply with new secure storage laws

Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press

Gun locks will soon be available free to the public at local health department offices in Michigan as part of a new program that is to be announced Friday by the Michigan State Police and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The locks are to be given out at MDHHS county offices and many local health departments statewide to help Michiganders comply with a new secure gun storage law that went into effect in February.

The law now requires all unattended firearms to be unloaded and locked with a locking device or stored in a locked box or safe if a child could have access to it. Anyone who fails to properly lock a gun that a child later uses to injure themselves or another person can be charged with a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $7,500.

If an unsecured gun is used by a child to kill another person or themselves, the owner can be charged with a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

A cable lock, like this one seen on a 45 ACP pistol at Brown Bear Sporting Goods store in Chesterfield Township, Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, is among the devices that can be used to comply with a new Michigan law that requires all unattended firearms to be unloaded and locked or stored in a locked box if a minor is likely to be present.
A cable lock, like this one seen on a 45 ACP pistol at Brown Bear Sporting Goods store in Chesterfield Township, Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, is among the devices that can be used to comply with a new Michigan law that requires all unattended firearms to be unloaded and locked or stored in a locked box if a minor is likely to be present.

The law passed in 2023 — about 17 months after Ethan Crumbley, who was 15 at the time, took a 9mm semi-automatic handgun his father had bought him to Oxford High School, killing four classmates and injuring six others and a teacher. He pleaded guilty to all charges against him and is serving life without the possibility of parole.

Jennifer and James Crumbley were the first parents in the U.S. to be charged and convicted in a mass school shooting committed by their child. Both were sentenced this week to 10-15 years in prison.

The rate of firearm deaths has skyrocketed nationally in recent years. Gun deaths were the leading cause of death for U.S. children and teens in 2022 and were in the top five causes of death for all Americans through age 44, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Details about Michigan's new free gun lock program are to be announced at 11 a.m. Friday at the MDHHS Greydale Office, 27260 Plymouth Road, in Redford Township. Free cable gun locks will be distributed at the event.

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In the meantime, Michigan State Police posts have gun locks available now at no cost for anyone in need of one, said Lori Dougovito, a spokesperson for the MSP.

"No questions asked," she said.

Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Free Press.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan offers free gun locks to boost compliance with new laws

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