Tax Deduction for Buying a Gun Safe?

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Leave it to a free people to solve America’s most pressing problems.

A new bill in Congress called The Secure Firearms Act, proposes a federal tax deduction of up to $1,200 for the purchase of a gun safe or other gun safety devices.

The legislation gives incentives to gun owners to secure their arms and ammunition when not in use. And, as a protection of second amendment rights, the IRS is prohibited from using the tax deductions claims to produce any form of gun owner registration.

The bi-partisan legislation was introduced May 8, 2013 by Rep. John Carter (R-TX) and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), both members of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.

“The most common factor in the mass shootings over the past years is that people who should not have had access to firearms managed to acquire them anyway,” Carter said. “We don’t attempt to address all of the reasons for that in this bill, but specifically target better security of firearms by law-abiding citizens through incentives, not mandates.”

“This is a common sense first step towards increasing access for Americans to purchase devices that will prevent the misuse of firearms,” Cuellar said. “While this legislation is not meant to be a ‘fix-all,’ this is a bipartisan idea that Congress should immediately act on.”

Mass shootings in recent years involved people who should not have had access to guns. The most recent Newtown tragedy was apparently facilitated when a gun safe holding the weapons used to kill so many children and adults was left unlocked, or the combination otherwise made available to the mentally unstable son of the woman who owned the safe and the guns.

“We can use this legislation to kick off a nationwide push,” Carter said, “to put gun safes or security devices in every home with unattended firearms by the close of 2014, and then let’s push for everyone to use them.”

The Secure Firearms Act is endorsed by:

The National Rifle Association (NRA): “…we support the Secure Firearms Act of 2013 …”

Gun Owners of America: “This bill provides a solid benefit to law-abiding gun owners nationwide, and will increase public safety in the process.”

National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF): “[We] thank Rep. Carter for his leadership in offering a real, bi-partisan solution that will help make our families safer….”

Rep. Carter added, “This is one bill that will reduce illegal firearms use, is constitutionally-sound, paid for with appropriate corresponding budget cuts, and should be supported by all sides on this debate.”

Stay tuned for updates as they become available.

Liberty Safe To Be Featured on “Built In America”

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On Sunday, May 5, at 11:30 a.m., Liberty Safe is being featured on the highly acclaimed cable television program, Built In America.

“Liberty makes jobs,” said Collin Williams, the producer of Built In America. “This truly American company provides not only peace of mind and security but also American jobs for proud American workers. We are very excited to have them on our program.”

Built In America is a documentary/educational program featuring American companies that are on the cutting edge of manufacturing and production innovation. The featured companies receive exposure to consumers and media outlets around the world.

Williams says his producers were attracted to Liberty Safe because it is the #1 seller and largest producer of home and gun safes in the world. The directors visited the company in Payson, Utah, to witness for themselves the amazing automated production process that builds more than 150,000 safes a year.

According to Jamey Skousen, marketing director for Liberty Safe, “Liberty employees take great pride in the products they build. They know if their quality state-of-the-art product stands up to attempted break-ins, a fire, tornado, hurricane, or earthquake…let me tell you, the pride that these guys have knowing they are part of a huge success story is just fantastic. That’s where the real joy and satisfaction comes from, the chance to build safes with the Liberty name attached.” Skousen is also seen on the documentary.

Built In America is aired at 11:30 a.m. EDT, on the FOX Business Network (FBN). Williams says the May 5 segment featuring Liberty Safe will reach more than 92 million households in North America and internationally.

For a sneak preview of the introduction, click here.

When “Big Brother” Comes to Steal Your Stuff

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The little island-nation of Cyprus is going through a nightmare.

European socialism is in the final throes of ruining that Mediterranean paradise, and now the Cyprus government has turned to stealing from frugal savers to keep its economy from collapsing.

Everybody with more than $130,000 in the bank will have those excesses stolen, taken, frozen, absorbed, and subtracted to keep the country’s economy floating. Those who are not protected under government insured accounts (similar to America’s FDIC), will have up to 40% of their savings taken by the government.

The Russians (they love Cyprus’s tax haven) will lose billions, businesses will lose millions, the individual saver will lose thousands, and the entire foolish experiment in “our government will protect you from cradle to grave” is going up in smoke.

The result?

Tens of thousands of Cyprus citizens are lining up at ATM machines to withdraw money. But they may only take 100 Euros a day—that’s $130 a day.

Why the ATM machines? Because the government has closed all the banks so people can’t empty the vaults and take their own property home.

How do you suppose the crime rate in Cyprus might change with cash being hoarded in people’s homes instead of in banks? The pickings for a thief must be pretty ripe in Cyprus right now.

That’s just one more reason why a Liberty safe makes so much sense.

This same kind of event happened in the U.S. during the New Deal era, and helped set off the Great Depression. Something like that is not likely to happen again any time soon, but emergencies do erupt at the worst possible times. And, with the twisted economic thinking taking place in America right now, the same kind of thinking that mimics the economic choices in Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain, France, and elsewhere, there can be no guarantees. If America did experience a similar problem, two things would happen.

First, thieves would know that many people would be stashing cash and valuables in their houses. Under such impoverished and desperate conditions, break-ins would skyrocket.

Second, Liberty safe owners would have peace of mind because their cash and valuables are locked behind the door of the finest safe in the world. It’s a peace of mind only Liberty can deliver.

It’s a pretty good bet that right now, most of the 1.1 million people in Cyprus are wishing they had a Liberty safe in their homes. Unfortunately for them, however, things changed abruptly, shockingly, and expeditiously. And now it’s too late.

Liberty safe—makers of the best-built safes in the world.

Neglect Can Be Expensive

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Personal responsibility never sleeps and never takes a vacation. Being responsible for personal actions is what separates humans from animals—or that’s the plan, anyway.

And being responsible around guns is always a matter of life and death. Those who neglect proper training and personal gun responsibility end up on America’s Funniest Videos, a police report, or the obituary page—proof that stupid is as stupid does.

There are plenty of examples.

Click here and see some soldiers in the jungle handing a loaded AK-47 automatic rifle to a monkey. The monkey finds the trigger and starts shooting, everybody scatters until the clip is empty. Stupid is as stupid does.

Or, click here and see a man practicing with a shotgun during an outdoor concealed carry permit class. One of the shells experiences a hangfire (slow-igniting fuse), and the man looks down the barrel to see what’s wrong. No gore, but there might have been. Stupid is as stupid does.

Or, click here and see a police officer giving a training class on gun safety. He demonstrates improperly how to unload a handgun and manages to shoot himself in the foot, right in front of the whole class. Stupid is as stupid does.

These are obviously the exceptions to responsible gun ownership by people who treat gun safety and security with the utmost respect. But it is also true that each of these situations could have been avoided had they followed the proper steps learned in training that ensures their safety and those around them.

The legal issues surrounding gun liability for the irresponsibility of securing guns are growing in America. In some states, gun owners are held responsible if their collection is stolen and used in a crime. The court views the original owner as somewhat culpable for not keeping it protected from theft.

Responsible gun owners may have some peace of mind about their collection if they let a reliable safe be at a minimum their inoculation against a severe case of stupidness. Locking up your guns in a well-built safe helps keep them out of the hands of the unauthorized, the criminals, the curious visitors, your children, and friends. The last thing a gun owner needs is a phone call saying someone innocent was shot (click here to hear Mike Schlappi in his own words tell about that very kind of tragic day). When you have your guns in a safe, and only you have the combination, then you are exercising the highest level of personal responsibility possible. This protection can also prevent the level of tragedy that others have experienced in recent times when their guns were accessible by others who were not authorized or knew how to be alert and responsible around guns.

Peace Of Mind When Guns Are Safe

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On November 11, 1977, Mike Schlappi was only 14 when a friend picked up his father’s service revolver, jokingly pointed it at Mike’s chest, pulled the trigger, and a single shot went into Mike’s chest. The bullet ripped through a lung, missed his heart, and severed his spine. Mike fell back onto the bed stunned.

“You’re faking! You’re faking!” his friend shouted in panic. Mike pulled up his shirt and showed the wound—and then he passed out.

Mike survived that boyhood accident, but his lower body was paralyzed. He would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

The shooting accident didn’t stop Mike. He went on to graduate from high school, then college, and became a four-time medalist winner for basketball in the Paralympics. He got married and had five children. Today, he is a successful businessman, author, and is a highly sought-after motivational speaker whose message is, “If you can’t stand up, stand out!”

In a recent interview, Mike told his story about the accident and how it taught him some great lessons of life that are often lost to almost everyone else. He has even forgiven the friend who shot him. (To see Mike sharing part of this story, click here.)

“I thank God for pain,” Mike said. “Because only when we feel pain do we change. And only when we change do we grow. And only when we grow do we realize the beauty that lies within each and everyone of us.”

Did the shooting accident turn Mike against guns? Not at all. Mike hunts to this day and acknowledges the importance of gun safety.

Behind the steel walls of his Liberty safe, Mike stashes his gold medals, the very bullet that cost him his mobility, and his own personal collection of rifles and handguns.

“I make sure my personal guns go in here so that I’m not a risk to other people,” he said.

The legal challenges to gun owners are increasing every day. The issues of liability are gaining ground in courts across the country. Gun manufacturers, gun distributors and gun owners have been working hard to defend the rights of gun ownership while legislators in many states are creating laws that place all or some of the burden of responsibility where their gun was not secured and thus stolen and used in a crime.

As Mike Schlappi declared, there is nothing wrong with owning a gun—but keeping it safe makes all the difference. That’s why Mike chose Liberty Safe, along with the more than 1.5 million other Americans, to keep his guns and valuables safely secured. It brings a peace of mind that rests comfortably and easy, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and especially when curious kids are left alone at home.

When Sharing and Sharing Alike Doesn’t Work

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It’s a scene that has been repeated more than a million times in recent years—-

     A husband and wife pace back and forth in front of a row of Liberty safes at their local safe store. They’ve already learned enough to realize Liberty is the best deal for the money, and they can see all of the extra features that make Liberty a wise choice.

 But how big do we want to go?

      The dealer encourages them to consider going larger, but they counter with concerns of cost and that look of, “Is he trying to step us up?”
“You’ll really want the extra space,” the dealer says. “You’ll end up putting more stuff in it than you ever thought possible. Wishing it was bigger is Liberty’s #1 complaint.”

     But husband and wife are perfectly confident that the smaller size will work, and they go forward buying a safe that meets current needs.

       Within days, their new safe is delivered, professionally installed, and the owner’s manual thoroughly exhausted and the combination numbers stashed away safely, the fun can finally begin.

     He brings his stuff and starts filling the shelves. The guns and rifles, the papers, the Coke bottle from the 2002 Winter Olympics, his letterman’s jacket and medals, dad’s class ring, grandpa’s war memorabilia, the plaster caste of Big Foot he made while hiking through Montana in 1992.

       But wait, there’s more! And then she comes with her dried bouquet from their wedding, her mother’s wedding rings, the mortgage papers, some cash and stock certificates, three binders of personal journals, that jar of sand from their honeymoon in Maui, and all those family photos from great-grandma.

       But wait, there’s more! And sure enough, over the course of time, that safe slowly fills. It fills as the clarity of safe storage begins to dawn on the two of them, and just what it means to have valuables stored away from theft, neglect and fire.

     Before long, the ultimate in confrontations finally arrives.

     “Honey, I need to take out your grandmother’s dress and shoes,” he says. “I know these mean a lot to you, but I don’t have room for these antique snowshoes and my victory cups from A&W.”

     “Why do you need those paper cups anyway?” she retorts. “Who cares about those, it was high school for crying out loud.”

     “I bought one every time we won a game, it’s family history, people will want to know, the kids will love these in 50 years!”

     “And they won’t value grandmother’s wedding dress and shoes? They’re rare, they’re valuable….”

       And then it hits both of them: “We should have bought a bigger safe.”
When it comes to safes, bigger is better. But if the one you own is packed full, here’s another solution. Make it His and Hers.

     That’s just what these Liberty safe owners did (see photo), and they’ve been happy ever since—a safe for him and a safe for her.

       With plenty of secure storage between the two of them, the arguments ended, the decisions became easier, and they report it was the best thing they could have done. “Thank you, Liberty,” they recently wrote. “It saved our sanity.”

     Liberty safe—encouraging happy marriages everywhere with the best-built safes on the planet.

What’s Inside the Vault of Vaults?

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Even Tom Cruise and his block-buster movie-making buddies couldn’t get into this place …

On November 3, 2012, an amazing, high-tech security facility opened in Salt Lake City. It’s not a government-run bunker, it’s not a Hollywood action-movie studio set, it’s an actual, real life, super-secure storage facility where every client has 24 x 7 access—provided they can get past a battery of security barriers including multiple security codes, the right set of keys, and, the right retina—all under the watchful care of on-site personnel and 50 “hardened” cameras keeping an eye on things from the central security offices.

Once inside, what do you suppose clients find for the very last level of security, the actual safes? Yes, you guessed it—they find rows and rows of Liberty safes, the best-built safes on the planet (for PHOTOS—click here).

The new Safe Haven Private Vaults is one of nine similar facilities in the U.S. It is an ultra-secure building housing some 3,000 deposit boxes of assorted sizes, and full-sized safes.

At a time when people everywhere are concerned about their valuables being taken by either thieves or the government (sorry for the redundancy), here is a place that doesn’t ever close like the banks do, doesn’t stand unguarded like that desk drawer at home while you’re at the movies, and stays awake morning, noon and night.

Remember the advantages of a Liberty safe at home. If they’re good enough for Safe Haven, they’re good enough for you. It’s the best way to have peace of mind and to keep your valuables close at hand, when you really need them fast.

Liberty, the best-built safes on earth.

The Most Perfect Safe Isn’t

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Somewhere in a galaxy far, far away, the extraterrestials have invented home fire safes that stand impervious to all physical and material challenges. Nothing can penetrate or harm these safes or their contents—not even X-ray vision, Kryptonite radiation, or a supernova.

For these safes, the sales team is bored to tears because people buy them every time they change their wallpaper. The biggest issue for extraterrestials, as we can all appreciate, is color.

Meanwhile, back here on planet Earth, it’s a much different story. We earthlings are subject to the frustrating flaws of an imperfect world where state-of-the-art engineering and manufacturing does its best to predict and defend against dreaded outcomes. Ours is a world of unforeseeable surprises. The best that we mortals can do is take all the precautions our budgets will afford, and leave the rest to careful planning.

For example, customers might be tricked into thinking that the fire safe they are about to buy can last forever during a fire simply because the safe says it has “fire protection.” Don’t be fooled. How long that safe lasts depends on what is installed inside and the environment in which it is placed. Any safe can fail and “run out of coolant” and result in despair and anger, so buying to exceed any anticipated disaster is the wise way to go.

We here in the Liberty pyro-techno engineering world would like to help so you can make the best informed decision. Consider these aspects of careful planning that some other fire-safe owners may neglect when weighing cost versus protection in the event of a fire:

Where is your house? If you plan to put your fire safe in a home that is a half hour away for the fire trucks, then you’d be smart to get one of the highest-rated safes available. If your fire department is volunteer, you’ll need to consider the extra time that will be needed to pull all those first responders together and get on their way.

Do you have a ceramic or metal roof? Both ceramic and metal roofs can hold in the heat during a house fire a lot longer than traditional asphalt-shingle roofs. If your house caught fire, these roofs subject your safe to cooking at higher temperatures for a longer period of time than is typically expected.

Is there a water source nearby? Another problem with houses far removed from towns and cities is the water source to fight a fire. Are there fire hydrants nearby? Is the only water supply only what the truck brings with it? If they run out of water before the fire is out, how long before they can refill or call another department to respond.

Did you put flammables inside your safe? In addition to flammables near a safe, some people store inside their safes black powder, a bottle or two of expensive liquors, or other items/liquids that can explode or catch fire under certain circumstances. If you have accelerants inside your safe, chances are something might trigger them to ignite in the event of a fire. Keep those items in a separate lock box, and save your Liberty Safe for those things that truly are irreplaceable.

Liberty Tests Its Safes: For the past 15 years, Liberty has fire tested more than 250 safes, and continues today. When we say our fire safes will keep contents protected at 300 degrees for a certain length of time while a fire rages outside at 1200 degrees, we mean it. We test each series to make sure their certifications are accurate. When we put our fire rating label on our safes, customers can expect that level of performance.

Backed by the #1 Warranty: Liberty’s generous replacement warranty always kicks in when a customer’s safe goes through a fire, break in, or other unforeseen disaster. If your Liberty Safe ever goes through a fire (or an attempted break-in), Liberty will repair or replace the safe for as long as you own it, especially if your insurance won’t. We even cover the delivery and installation too. No hassle.

Quality Is Always Worth The Cost: We realize there are situations where budgets preclude homeowners from buying the higher-rated fire safe that would better serve them. But remember, for a relatively small cost to step up, a higher-rated fire safe can prove to be the most valuable and cost-effective purchase, especially when you need it.

Take The Quiz! A great way to determine the best fire protection is to take our quiz, “WHICH SAFE IS RIGHT FOR YOU?” on our website. It’s 10 simple questions that will help determine the right fire series and sizes that would best meet your needs.

Listen To Survivors Tell Their Story: And, on the same web page we have several testimonials from customers who considered the risks of placing their quality Liberty safe in a setting where help couldn’t come for an extended period of time, and how well their higher-rated safes held up in protecting the contents. Those who cut corners, thinking to cheat disaster, find out in the end that there is nothing that can compensate for high quality and wise choices.

That’s why most people choose Liberty Safe—makers of the best built safes on the planet.

What’s a “Six-Minute Customer”?

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National crime statistics show that in recent years, the average time a crook spends inside somebody’s house is less than ten minutes. For that reason, some of Liberty Safe’s competitors have started bragging that their safes can keep out burglars for 6 or 7 minutes, just long enough for the crooks to begin to feel nervous and flee. Well, what if the crooks stick around just a little bit longer?

How do you feel about 6 or 7 minutes until a thief manages to break into your safe?

At Liberty, we like the idea of maximums—we like the idea of ten times the protection that our competitors claim to offer. We like the idea of so much strength and durability that burglars get discouraged, tired, and storm away angry because our safes as so tough and durable. Liberty customers who properly install their safes can have peace of mind that not only is a Liberty harder to get into, but compared to all competitors in the market, Liberty is the crooks’ most frustrating safe on the planet.

Liberty doesn’t cater to the “six-minute” minimum, we strive for maximums at every stage of the production and installation process. Want proof? Watch these tough guys put crowbars on some competitors’ safes in an attempt to pry open the door. Six minutes? That’s just a warm-up because Liberty makes the best-built safes on the planet.

 

 

Who Survived the Free Fall?

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It’s the ultimate in “smash and grab.”
What happens when a 900-pound Liberty Safe falls from 200 feet and crashes into a competitor’s safe at 76 miles an hour? It wasn’t pretty, but that’s what we do to prove the integrity of Liberty safes. And, to make things fair, we dropped a 900-pound made-in-China competitor’s safe on one of our Liberty safes. All safes were the same size and weight. The pictures say it all.
Liberty, the best-built safes in the world.

For this test, the safes were hoisted 200 feet into the air with a cable release controlled by the ground crew. This arrangement allowed the safes to free-fall onto the target safe below.

Ground crews align safes before hoisting the competitor's 200 feet into the air for the drop. This was the first of two tests. The second test, between a black Liberty 25 and a competitor's 25, are shown below.

Moment of impact: A Liberty 25 crashes into a competitor's safe, breaking welds, shattering fire board, blowing the door off, and leaving the inferior safe in shambles.

The Liberty 25 after falling 200 feet and smashing into a competitor's safe---notice there are no broken welds, just some dents and scratches---and under Liberty's lifetime warranty, this safe is completely replaceable free of charge (although, we do frown on customers causing intentional damage---leave the testing up to us!).

After the crushing impact of the competitor's safe onto this white Liberty 25, notice how the Liberty safe retained integrity on all sides. The door remained closed and locked. No broken welds, no access to the interior after the horrific impact.

This made-in-China safe didn't fare well from the drop. Notice that it suffered a ruptured weld along the bottom, which was the impact point between the two safes. For a thief with a crowbar, such a rupture would make quick work for sheering open the rest of the safe to access the valuables inside.

Here is the Liberty safe (right) that was just dropped from 200 feet onto a same-sized and weighted competitor's safe. The Liberty safe did very well because of attention to detail, excellent engineering, and Made In The U.S.A. superior quality. All of its welds were intact, and the door remained firmly attached, shut, and locked. The made-in-China competitor delivered exactly what the buyer bargained for---a pretty paint job, but in comparison, that's about all.