AULANDER – The Aulander Police Department will provide 400 free firearm safety kits to local residents through a partnership with Project ChildSafe, the nationwide firearms safety education program.

The safety kits, which include a gunlock, will be distributed May 1 for as long as supplies last at the Aulander Town Hall.

&uot;We encourage residents to pick up a Project ChildSafe safety kit so that they can securely store their firearms,&uot; said Aulander Police Chief Jimmy Barmer.

Developed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), Project ChildSafe will distribute millions of firearm safety kits throughout the country over the next year, supplying citizens with the ammunition they need to keep their families and themselves protected against unnecessary accidents involving firearms.

&uot;Each kit contains a safety curriculum and a cable-style gunlock,&uot; said Barmer. &uot;The locks fit on most types of handguns, rifles and shotguns with a goal of preventing a child or any other unauthorized person from accessing a firearm in your home.&uot;

By partnering with Project ChildSafe, the Aulander Police Department is participating in a growing national effort to promote firearms safety education to all gun owners.

Project ChildSafe plans to distribute gunlock safety kits to all 50 states and the five U.S. territories.

&uot;We are pleased to have the Aulander Police Department as a Project ChildSafe Partner,&uot; said Dee Dee Dockins, a spokesperson for the program. &uot;Project ChildSafe is an important step forward in helping ensure that all firearm owners fully understand their responsibilities with respect to the safe handling and storage of firearms.&uot;

The program is funded by a U.S. Department of Justice grant, with additional funding provided by the firearms industry.