Storing
California’s attorney general provides several recommendations on gun storage. The attorney general encourages gun owners to:
- store their gun with a state-approved firearm safety device on it (for example, a trigger lock or a cable lock),
- ensure that their weapon is not loaded,
- put their firearm in a locked container (a lockbox or a gun safe), and
- store their gun in a different location than the ammunition.
Additional safety measures will apply in the event that either:
- children are present in the location where a gun is being stored, and
- a person prohibited from possessing a gun is present in the location where the gun is being stored.
Child present
Per Penal Code 25100 PC it is a crime for a gun owner to:
- store a loaded firearm in a home, or within an area of the owner’s control, and
- do so when the owner knows, or should know, that a child could access it without a parent’s permission.
This means if a gun owner knows that a child can access a stored gun, he/she should:
- make certain that it is unloaded, and
- store it in a place outside of the child’s access (like a locked container).
A violation of the above law is a misdemeanor offense. The crime is punishable by up to one year in county jail. This punishment will increase if a child accesses the weapon and causes:
- harm,
- great bodily injury, or
- death.
Note that no criminal charges will be filed if a child accessed the gun in a lawful act of self-defense or in the defense of another person.
Storage with prohibited person
Penal Code 25100 PC also makes it a crime for a gun owner to:
- store a loaded gun in a home, or within an area of the owner’s control, and
- do so when the owner knows, or should know, that a person prohibited from possessing a firearm could access it.
This means if a gun owner knows that an adult who cannot possess a gun can access the weapon, he/she should:
- make certain that it is unloaded, and
- store it in a place outside of the adult’s access (like in a locked container).
A violation of the above law is charged as a misdemeanor. The crime is punishable by up to one year in county jail.
Note that this punishment increases if an adult gets to the weapon and causes:
- harm,
- great bodily injury, or
- death.
In such cases, the crime can be charged as a felony and lead to custody in state prison for up to three years.
Note, though, that no criminal charges will be filed if the prohibited person accessed a gun in a lawful act of self-defense or in the defense of another person.
M., D. (2022, March 27). California gun laws 2022 – your top 12 questions answered. Shouse Law Group. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from https://www.shouselaw.com/ca/defense/gun-laws/