From the time the first colonists landed on American shores, firearms have played an essential role in our survival, both as a nation and as individuals. Today over 70 million Americans own and use firearms, and the Federal Government estimates that firearms are kept in over half the households in this country. With this freedom, must come responsibility.

1. As a firearms owner and user, you must take responsibility for the safe handling and safe storage of your firearms.

You are taking the first step by reading this pamphlet, but you can go further by enrolling in one of the numerous shooting courses available here and throughout the country.

FIREARMS SAFETY IS UP TO YOU

2. Handle all firearms as if they were loaded.

Never forget that a firearm has the potential to produce serious injury or death in a single instant of carelessness. Make safe firearm handling a habit to be followed at all times. After you determine that the firearm is unloaded continue to handle it as though it were loaded.

3. Always keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction.

In selecting a safe direction, you must also take into consideration that a bullet can ricochet or glance off any object it strikes, and that bullets can penetrate walls, ceilings, floors, and windows. A safe direction is not always the same every time. Especially in a city it is not a good idea to point a firearm up. If the firearm should discharge, the bullet will have to come down somewhere. Careless firearm owners firing into the air injure many people every year in US cities. (What goes up must come down.) In a city with paved streets and parking lots, aiming the firearm at the ground may not be a good idea either as the bullet will ricochet or glance off any hard surface. You must use good common sense to determine a safe direction for the Circumstance you are in at any given time.