Public Health Distributes Lockboxes To Promote Gun Safety

In recognition of National Gun Violence Awareness Day, Public Health – Seattle & King County recently partnered with local organizations and municipalities to distribute free gun lockboxes at events across the region. The initiative aimed to promote secure firearm storage and reduce the risk of accidental shootings and gun-related deaths.

The main event, held on Jackson Street and co-hosted by Community Passageways, drew community members, youth leaders, and public safety advocates wearing orange—the national color of the gun violence prevention movement. That color was adopted after the 2013 shooting death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton in Chicago. Her friends chose orange to honor her life, using the same color hunters wear to signal visibility and safety.

“That’s a pretty heavy weight for young people to have to consider,” said Eleuthera Lisch, director of the King County Regional Office of Gun Violence Prevention. “They feel hunted in the streets and are the victims of accidental shootings because people don’t realize their right to be safe and free.”

Several community groups took part in the event, including Freedom Project, Urban Family, Progress Pushers, the Federal Way Community Center, and the City of Auburn. Lockboxes were distributed on-site following a short demonstration and a required survey.

According to data from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, firearm-related homicides and injuries reached a five-year low in the first three months of 2025. South King County also saw a 37% decrease in shots-fired incidents compared to the same period in 2024. While no single initiative is credited for the decline, Lisch said the recent drop in gun violence may reflect the impact of coordinated community efforts.

“In partnership with all the other public safety work that happens, these organizations are contributing to the increased public safety that we saw in the first quarter of 2025,” she said. “We’re nowhere near there, but it’s promising.”

Mark Rivers, deputy director of community safety teams at Community Passageways, spoke at the event about the consequences of firearm misuse. “Lives are lost,” he said. “And it’s not just the victim, but it’s also the perpetrator, because once they commit that crime they got to go do the time. So that’s two lives lost when we could have just done something by storing a gun the right way, putting it in the lockbox.”

Marcus Ellis, deputy of impact for Cities United, a national nonprofit working to reduce gun violence, stressed the need for long-term investment in communities. “While we have these preventive measures, it’s also important to have measures that involve investment,” he said. “Like providing resources, comprehensive strategies to prevent community gun violence, and ensuring that we have a public safety ecosystem there to build understanding that violence is a public health approach and it’s important we address it that way.”

After remarks from speakers, a moment of silence was held for gun violence victims before attendees received lockboxes. Lisch closed her comments by calling for a shift in how communities perceive those most affected by gun violence.

“The narrative has to shift,” she said. “Young people who are suffering the affliction and experiences of gun violence aren’t thugs. They aren’t bad people. They’re somebody’s brother, cousin, uncle, or daddy. They need to be recognized, valued, supported, and held accountable when they’re involved in things that infringe on other people’s well-being and safety.”