Having a safe and secure place to lock away a gun can save lives. What some people may not know is there are gun storage options available outside the home.
John Dunlap, owner of Dunlap Gun Storage, says that their clients have a wide range of reasons for entrusting their firearms with them.
While some people feel more comfortable keeping their guns nearby, others may be in a situation such as moving, going on vacation, or military deployment where they prefer to store them in a facility rather than leave them at home.
"We have grandparents who have grandchildren visiting that don't have a good way to prevent access," said John Dunlap.
He says some people are required to have limited access to their firearms due to mental health issues.
"There are court ordered scenarios where someone is court ordered not to have access to firearms that they own," he said.
For this reason, they've recently partnered with Northern Nevada Public Health.
"There's a Washoe County Suicide Prevention Alliance that we're starting discussions with to offer this as a service to help those in our local community," he said.
While their partnership is new, the Washoe County Suicide Prevention Alliance says out-of-home gun storage can be especially helpful to persons in crisis at risk for suicide.
Inside their 10,000 square foot facility, Dunlap Gun Storage firearms are stored in vaults surrounded by video surveillance, motion detection, and security.
"There's a lot of regulatory compliance issues right now that are surfacing about firearm storage and we're trying to help solve some of those problems," Dunlap tells us.
For those who do wish to keep their firearms in their house, Washoe County Suicide Prevention Alliance says to make sure to store firearms unloaded and locked, store and lock ammunition separately from firearms, and ensure the key and/or combination is inaccessible to the person in crisis.
If you or someone you know may be struggling, you can dial the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988.
