WASHINGTON — A mass shooting that left four people dead in Lake County, Ohio, on Nov. 16 is shining a spotlight on gun violence. 

With Congress unable to enact significant new gun reforms, one Ohio congresswoman is trying a new approach: Creating tax incentives for parents to buy gun safes for their firearms.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, is introducing a bill to subsidize gun safes for parents or guardians of children. It would create a $300 tax rebate for parents who buy a firearm safety device, such as a gun safe or gun lock.

“Children are curious. We know that. They get into things that they shouldn’t. So this is just a way to try to help the situation and make it safer for children,” Kaptur said.

Though the proposed measure would use taxpayer funds to subsidize firearm-related supplies, Kaptur said the end result — safer homes — is paramount.

“The credit would go for the safe boxes, the locks, the way you could hold those guns in a manner that is safe,” she said.

Kaptur is co-sponsoring the bill with Rep. John James, R-Mich. Both co-sponsors said they were confident the bill would get bipartisan support.

“My generation was still in school when the Columbine massacre happened. I know what it’s like to walk into class with the fear that I may not walk out,” James said in a statement. “Now as the father of three school-aged boys, I pray every day that the Lord allows them to return home safe and sound. It’s insane that millions of parents have to make that prayer every day in America. It’s incensing that dozens of parents’ prayers have not been answered in a generation. Prayer is powerful but we must do more than pray. We must change policy too. The Second Amendment is not optional, and neither is keeping our kids safe from violence.”

The bill comes after an incident in January in which a small child in Columbus, Ohio, found a loaded gun between couch cushions in his living room and fired it, narrowly missing his own face.

The boy’s father, 28-year-old Matthew Rivas, was charged with two counts of negligent storage of a firearm and one count of child endangerment. He pleaded guilty in April and was sentenced to 10 days in jail and two years of probation.

Kaptur previously supported proposed bans on semi-automatic rifles, which have not been enacted after the last such ban expired nearly 20 years ago.

“I thought this might be one way of taking a small step toward something more significant,” she said.

 The proposed tax rebate would take effect immediately upon passage and extend for five years.