January 16, 2001

Project HomeSafe, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), will very shortly be announcing a voluntary replacement lock program.

Any individual who received a Project HomeSafe cable locking device will be asked to call a toll-free number to request a free replacement lock. The replacement lock program and a toll-free number will be announced in the local media of Project HomeSafe cities and counties; the toll-free number will also be listed on this Web site.

As mentioned in a previous advisory to Project HomeSafe partner cities and counties, CPSC believes that due to a design limitation the original Project HomeSafe lock can open without the use of a key if subjected to sufficient force. Project HomeSafe immediately stopped distribution of these locks, and asked its lock supplier to develop a new and improved locking device. The development and testing of the new locking device has been completed, and production of the new lock has begun. We thank our Project HomeSafe partners and lock recipients for their patience during this time. Once production levels of the new lock reach a level to meet demand, Project HomeSafe will announce the replacement lock effort and restart the national program.

Project HomeSafe reminds police and sheriff departments not to distribute the original locks and to follow the recommendations in the January 8 advisory for disposal/return of the locks.

Project HomeSafe reminds individuals who received the original lock to leave that lock installed on their firearms unless they can replace it with a device they are certain offers superior security, such as a safe, or until they receive the Project HomeSafe replacement lock. The original lock still provides a level of security and deters unauthorized access, particularly by young children, of firearms in the home. It should be emphasized that the use of the original lock does not make a firearm unsafe, and any firearm with the lock properly installed is inoperable.

Project HomeSafe continues to stress that its locking device, or any other gun locking device, is intended only as a deterrent to unauthorized access, particularly by children, and is not intended to withstand forced entry by a determined individual. Gun locking devices should be considered to be only one element of a safe storage program for firearms, as stated in the Project HomeSafe literature.

Project HomeSafe is the nation's most comprehensive firearms safety education and gun lock giveaway program, with more than 700 cities and counties having signed up to participate.