Gun violence is the target of two new radio ads launched by Protect Minnesota during a press conference Monday.

Protect Minnesota, a consortium of gun-safety advocates, is lobbying for background checks to be required for all gun sales and transfers statewide, according to Sue Fust, the organization’s executive director. A loophole in Minnesota law allows people to buy guns at trade shows, for instance, without being subject to background checks, she explained. Additionally, more people need to know how to store guns safely, she stressed.

In one ad, a young girl becomes the victim of a gunshot after discovering a loaded gun in her parents’ bedroom. In the other, a young man who isn’t eligible to vote or buy cigarettes obtains a gun with ease and shoots a convenience store clerk.

The ads are airing on WCCO and other radio stations across the state. (They can be downloaded at www.protectmn.org.)

Right now, there aren’t enough checks and balances in place to keep guns away from children and criminals, according to Fust. "We believe it’s important to keep guns out of the hands of those who aren’t responsible," Fust said, adding that that’s where the ads come in. "They are startling. We want people not to be complacent."

Marc Kimball, a spokesperson for the Children’s Defense Fund of Minnesota (a Protect Minnesota partner), cites a recent study by his organization that indicated a nationwide increase in gun deaths and injuries in 2005, for the first time since 1994. (2005 is the most recent year for which information is available.) In 2005, 3,006 children across the United States lost their lives in gun deaths, including suicides, homicides and accidents. Of those, 42 deaths were in Minnesota. Gun injuries and deaths have doubled statewide over the past six years, according to the report.

John Blackstone, a gun-safety advocate who spoke at the press conference, said he is all too familiar with the issue. When he was 10 years old, he played with a pistol that hadn’t been locked up and accidentally shot a boy who died later that day. "If the gun had been safely stored, that might’ve eliminated that incident," he told the Minnesota Independent over the phone.

Protect Minnesota’s sponsors include Citizens for a Safer Minnesota, the Million Mom March, Initiative for Violence-Free Families and the Children’s Defense Fund. Their cause has also received support from numerous law enforcement officials and the American Hunters and Shooters Association.