Safe Storage Practices
The firearms industry is united in advocating for responsible firearm ownership throughout the country.
Our message to gun owners: It is your responsibility to ensure your firearms are stored securely at all times.
California state law does not require that firearms are locked while in the home and not being used. It does require that prohibited persons not have access to your firearms (please check your local city and county ordinances which may be different from state law and may require more). Additionally, please check your local ordinances for the city and county as they vary across the state in regards to transportation and storage of firearms in vehicles.
Learn more about Project ChildSafe.
For more information we highly recommend purchasing a copy of California Gun Laws, a CRPA publication that updates each year.
Penal Code 25100 PC is the California statute that defines the crime of criminal storage of a firearm. The law says a person cannot store a gun where a child may access it, and it is an offense if a child then gets it and injures either himself/herself or another person. A violation of the statute can result in a felony charge punishable by up to three years in state prison.
25100 PC states that “a person commits the crime of criminal storage of a firearm…if all of the following conditions are satisfied: The person keeps any firearm within any premises that are under the person’s custody or control. The person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the child’s parent or legal guardian. [And] the child obtains access to the firearm and thereby causes death or great bodily injury to the child or any other person.”