A t our a cademic urban, level I t r auma center, we are r e m i n d e d daily of the tragic af termath of f irearm-related injuries. Almost 67% of our pa t ien ts who are v ic t ims of intent ional , pene t r a t ing t r auma are injured by firearms. In early 1994, our staff b e g a n to concen t ra t e on fostering a c o m m u n i t y c o m m i t m e n t to firearm safety and responsible firearm ownership. It is e s t ima ted that 200 million firearms are owned by private ci t izens in this country. 1 Funct ional firearms are p resen t in nearly half of American households, and reports ind ica te tha t more t han 50% of g u n owners keep their firearms loaded. 2 Despite our legi t imate concern regard ing street violence, firearm dea ths are more likely to occur in a private res idence; the perpetrator is often a friend, relative, acqua in t ance , or the victim. 3 These facts p rompted our concern and val idated the need for a firearm preven t ion program geared to all age and soc ioeconomic groups. During the spr ing of 1994, our t r auma service init ia ted a program ent i t led "The Key to Firearm Safety," wh ich encouraged the use of tr igger locks as part of an overall focus on firearm safety. The two primary c o m p o n e n t s of the program were g u n safety educat ion and the supp lemen ta l use of tr igger locks. To create an incen t ive for g u n owners to incorporate firearm safety into their daily routine, we bel ieved that the promot ion of tr igger locks was a key e lement of the campaign . We b e g a n our search for an in teres ted retailer, wi th regional presence , tha t could assis t in the acquis i t ion, cost, and d is t r ibut ion of the tr igger locks. On the bas is of geographic distr ibution, h igh visibility in the market , and adver t ised c o m m i t m e n t to family values, we elected to approach Wal-Mart representa t ives (Wal-Mart, Bentonville, Ark.) and de te rmine their interest in cosponsoring the program. Fortunately, local Wal-Mart representatives (i.e., district management) were receptive and agreed to participate.