NATCHEZ — As a mother, Connie Thomas knows it is better to be safe than sorry.

That is why she picked up two free gun locks at a one-day display by Project HomeSafe at Natchez Mall on Monday.

&uot;I got one for myself, and I got one for a friend,&uot; she said.

Thomas has talked to her children about gun safety but &uot;with children with curiosity you never can be too sure.&uot;

Project HomeSafe is a national program endorsed by the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors and funded by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Project HomeSafe officials plan to distribute 40,000 gun locks in Mississippi and three million nationally by the end of 2002.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Department is the local agency associated with the program.

&uot;If all this will save one life it’s worth the effort,&uot; said Sheriff Tommy Ferrell.

Especially since at Christmas and during the hunting season gun accidents tend to increase, Ferrell said.

&uot;This is to try to protect people,&uot; Ferrell said.

In their first three hours at Natchez Mall, the deputies gave away about 500 gun locks, said Dan French of Project Home Safe.

Maj. Chuck Mayfield with Natchez-Adams County Metro Narcotics said many people would never buy a gun lock for themselves.

&uot;You just never know how many lives you might save just by doing this,&uot; he said.