Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll palmed both ends of a .357-Magnum revolver, turning it over in her hands as if it were a delicate prize.

"This," she said, presenting the handgun to the small crowd around her, "is what it's all about."

But it wasn't just the firearm that Knoll was displaying; equally important was the small lock dangling from the handgun's chamber. It was one of 610,000 gunlocks that the lieutenant governor's office plans to distribute in Pennsylvania through Project ChildSafe.

The nationwide safety program aims to decrease firearm accidents, which kill about 88 children under 12 years old each year, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Surrounded by state, Allegheny County and city police officials, Knoll held a news conference yesterday morning outside Heinz Field to trumpet the program.

"We're here asking gun owners to renew their commitment to protecting their child and get a lock for their gun," said Steve Alger, the national director of government relations for Project ChildSafe.

The locks have a thick, flexible metal cord that slips through the magazine well or chamber of most handguns and rifles. The locks can be popped open with the turn of a key, and each key can open only its own lock.

And best of all, they're free, thanks to a $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. They can be picked up at Pittsburgh police stations, the Allegheny County sheriff's office or Pennsylvania State Police barracks.

Events will be held this month at which the locks will be given away at several other locations, including the Sharpsburg police department June 9; the Brackenridge firehouse June 11; and the West Homestead police station June 13.

Knoll said she'd already handed out the safety devices at numerous sportsmen's clubs, explaining that gun-rights groups had been supportive of the program in general.

Some gun-control advocates, however, don't applaud such giveaway programs quite as heartily. Eric Howard, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said the burden should not be on government grants and taxpayers to promote gun safety.

"I would prefer everyone to have a gun lock than not," he said. "But the government doesn't provide seat belts. They're in the car. The gun industry should be more active in providing gun locks."

And like any form of prevention, curbing unnecessary firearm injury can be an endless cycle of "what ifs." If you hid a gun, what if a child finds it? If you lock the gun, what if the child finds the key?

"Hopefully, they wouldn't," Knoll said. "I think this is the most security we can offer."