Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Firearm Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kitsap health officer urges firearm-safety outreach after local and national shootings
Summary
Kitsap Public Health District Health Officer Herbie Dubert told the board firearms are a leading cause of death among children and described local outreach at a Bremerton gun show where the district handed out 45 lockboxes and 22 trigger locks; board members urged continued community engagement and discussion of funding to sustain the effort.
Health Officer Herbie Dubert told the Kitsap Public Health Board on May 5 that firearm injuries remain a leading cause of death for children and that suicide accounts for a large share of firearm fatalities. "Firearms are the leading cause of death in the United States for those between the ages of 1 and 19," Dubert said, adding that roughly 62 percent of firearm deaths are due to suicide and that reducing access and lethality is a public-health priority.
Dubert described local outreach at the Bremerton gun show on April 18–19, where the district staffed a table and distributed safety equipment. "We gave away 45 lockboxes, [and] 22 trigger locks," he said, noting items were gone by Saturday afternoon because of high demand. The district’s chronic disease and injury prevention staff reported strong positive engagement with attendees.
Board members praised the outreach and pressed for sustained effort. One board member recounted a recent family suicide as a reminder of local impacts and urged additional resources for prevention; another asked whether the district would continue attending gun shows. Dubert said the district wants to continue community engagement but that priorities will be balanced against available funding during budget planning. Administrator Yolanda Fong said some supplies came through a statewide program and that the board’s budget process for 2027 will consider ongoing resource needs.
The board discussed directing staff or budgeting to increase inventory of safety devices and suggested tracking grant sources for legislative follow-up. The board did not adopt a formal funding commitment at the meeting; members requested follow-up details during budget planning.
Next steps: staff will track where safety-equipment supplies originated, consider including sustained purchases in future budgets, and report back to the board.
