February 6, 2023 3:00 a.m.

On Friday, Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said they have joined a group of Senate colleagues to reintroduce Ethan’s Law.

A release said the legislation would require gun owners to safely and securely store their firearms.

Wyden said, “Reducing access to unsupervised firearms with safe and proper gun storage will save lives in Oregon and nationwide”. Wyden said, “Congress must urgently pass Ethan’s Law to protect our schools, communities and to fight the gun violence epidemic tearing through this country”.

Merkley said, “As a parent, I remember sending my kids off to a friend’s home with the sense that they would be safe. But for too many families, play dates have turned into nightmares”. Merkley said, “Ethan’s Law will help ensure guns are securely stored and keep our family, children and loved ones safe”.

The release said legislation is named in honor of Ethan Song, a teenager from Guilford, Connecticut killed in 2018 by an unsecured gun in a neighbor’s home. It would create federal requirements for safe gun storage and establish strong penalties for any violations. Advocates claim Ethan’s Law would reduce access to these unsupervised firearms often used in suicides, school shootings and other acts of violence.

Under Ethan’s Law, gun owners would be required to secure their firearms in a “secure gun storage or safety device” if a minor is likely to gain access to the firearm without permission, or if a resident of the dwelling cannot legally possess a firearm under existing law. Merkley and Wyden said the bill would also include incentives for states to pass and enforce their own safe gun storage laws.

Ethan’s Law is endorsed by more than 180 gun violence prevention and law enforcement advocacy groups.

A summary of the legislation is linked: https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/01312023ethans_lawonepager.pdf