Protesters marching against gun violence in February on Capitol Hill during “Arms are for hugging” demonstration.

Around 5,000 King County children live in homes with loaded and unlocked firearms, according to a report released by the county Monday (PDF). In an effort to promote safe firearm storage, King County has joined up with ten area firearm retailers to offer 10%-15% discounts on certain firearm storage devices. The Safe Storage Saves Lives campaign will run through December 2014.

“Gun violence is a public safety crisis. It is also a public health crisis, and I directed our staff to develop innovative strategies to reduce gun violence using a data-driven public health approach,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine.

The county also launched the LOK-IT-UP website that lists the participating retailers and offers advice on firearm storage safety. The campaign comes on the heels of the city’s “Gun Free Zone” campaign launched in August, where dozens of businesses including Neumos, Oddfellows, Elliott Bay Books, Cupcake Royale and Café Racer signed up to ban firearms in their shops.

Other findings from the Impact of Firearms on King County’s Children: 1999 – 2012 report include:

• More than 30,000 King County homes have a loaded and unlocked firearm
• The risk of a youth suicide in King County is nine times higher in homes where firearms are kept unlocked, compared to homes where firearms are locked.
• Between 1999 and 2012, 68 children in King County under the age of 18 died from gun violence, and 25 of those were suicides.
• Another 125 children were injured by firearms and had to be hospitalized.
• In King County, nearly one-quarter of all households have at least one firearm, and among those with firearms, an estimated 17% (31,200 households) stored them loaded and unlocked.
• During the 2011–2012 school year, 52 King County students were suspended or expelled for possessing a firearm on public school grounds.

The report and campaign launch came on the same day that findings were released in the year-long investigation into the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. In response to the shooting last year protestors marched through Capitol Hill in February in a demonstration called “Arms are for hugging”.

“It’s time for lock boxes and gun safes to become as normal as wearing a seat belt – which would reduce firearm thefts and prevent school-based threats,” said King County Sheriff John Urquhart.