Trigger locks are gun safety locks designed to prevent a gun's trigger from going off accidentally. Trigger lock models currently available include keyed devices, combination locks and alarms. There is currently no national law requiring trigger locks for firearms.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently found that many of the locks currently on the market could be defeated by children. If you have children living in or visiting your home, you should carefully research the safety features of your locking device. While there is no national safety standard for gun locks, the State of California recently adopted very stringent standards for locks that must be met in order for the lock to be sold in California. A list of locks that have been tested and approved is available at http://caag.state.ca.us/firearms/fsdcertlist.htm.

• Trigger locks are an inexpensive way to prevent guns kept in the home from being operated by unsupervised children, and therefore will help reduce the unintentional firearm deaths and suicides occurring each year.
   
• Legislation requiring that trigger locks be provided with every handgun sold is needed to maximize the number of families using these locks.

• Since there are no federal standards on trigger locks, the quality of products vary greatly and, in some cases, guns with locks that make the trigger inaccessible can still fire, if loaded. Some can be easily broken or otherwise overcome.
   
• A trigger lock will increase the time it takes a gun owner to respond to a self-defense emergency.

• Nearly three-quarters of Americans support a requirement that trigger locks be used for all handguns.
  
  SOURCE: SMITH, 2000
   

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