Governor Proclaims S.A.F.E. Week Of Action

S.A.F.E. Week Of Action

S.A.F.E. Week Of Action

2025

By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina

A Proclamation

Whereas, firearm owners using safe storage devices and practices is critical to preventing firearm-related theft, violence, death, suicide, and injury; and

Whereas, the NC S.A.F.E (Secure All Firearms Effectively) initiative has been established through partnership between the Governor's Office and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and further informed by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and NC S.A.F.E is a resource in educating North Carolinians on safe storage and responsible firearm ownership. The initiative has distributed more than 100,000 gun locks and hundreds of gun safes statewide while also sharing the importance of safe firearm storage with thousands of North Carolinians through community events, partnerships, and outreach; and

Whereas, firearm deaths are one of the most persistent and deadly issues facing North Carolina and the United States; an average of five North Carolinians die per day from a firearm injury, and rates of firearm violence and injury are increasing statewide and nationally; and

Whereas, firearm injuries have surpassed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of death for children; more than 1,700 juveniles statewide were charged with firearm-related offenses in North Carolina in 2024, and there were 254 instances of school-based offenses involving firearms during the same time period; and

Whereas, 42 percent of North Carolinians keep a firearm in or around their home and at least 24 percent of North Carolinians with loaded firearms at home keep them unlocked. Approximately 32 percent of middle school students and 29.5 percent of high school students report they can access a loaded gun in less than an hour, without a parent or other adult’s permission; and

Whereas, firearm deaths present a statewide crisis of public safety and public and mental health: more than two-thirds of all violent deaths in 2021 were firearm-related and more than half of firearm-related deaths are suicides; veterans are among the highest rates of firearm suicides compared to the general population; and

Whereas, communities that practice safe storage report a 59 percent decrease in unintentional deaths due to firearms, and an estimated 32 percent of youth firearm suicide and unintentional deaths could be prevented through safe storage; and

Whereas, every North Carolinian who owns a firearm should strive to practice safe storage and responsible firearm ownership because securing a firearm using a safe storage device can prevent theft and violent crime, including school shootings, accidental shootings, suicide, and improper use of firearms by youth, thereby creating safer homes and communities;

Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim June 1-7, 2025, as “S.A.F.E. Week Of Action” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this eighth day of May in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-fifth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.