Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly), private gun owners in California may not be well versed in the state’s gun storage laws. Between 2012 and 2017, almost two hundred thousand firearms turned up stolen in the state of California alone. This stat is troubling enough that people are investigating weapon storage for when they are not at home.
This article will go into some of the details of how you should ensure weapons are safe when stored in your home, car, or any other location. By the end, you should understand how to ensure you are following the California state laws and feel safer than ever before. Read on for more.
Weapon Storage at Home
The law as written does not make it crystal clear what “secure storage” is, as required. But, the California Attorney General has described what they believe the intent of this law to be. They consider the safest way to store a gun is with a firearm safety device in a locked container such as a gun safe.
The Attorney General has also stated that the owner should store the gun unloaded. Finally, they have said that you should store the weapon itself and the ammunition in very separate locations. This ensures complete safety if someone were to find one, but not the other.
Gun laws make it clear that wherever you store a gun it should not be accessible to children. Also, adults who cannot legally access a firearm should not have access either. This means that you should not give them the keys or home safe codes required to open the location where you keep the gun.
Gun Storing in a Vehicle
If storing a gun in a vehicle, similar rules apply to the home to keep the firearm out of the reach of unauthorized individuals.
You should unload the weapon and lock it inside a secure container. This secure container can be the trunk of the vehicle, so long as no children or prohibited individuals can access it.
There are some firearms that you cannot conceal in the vehicle. These include carbines, rifles, shotguns, and submachine guns. When you travel inside a school zone, though, you must lock these away.
It is always a good idea to make sure you unload these weapons when traveling. You must also make sure the guns are in a locked container when transporting them to and from the vehicle.
Choosing a Gun Safe
When choosing a gun safe in your home or another location, you should bear in mind that there are particular regulations you should follow. Talk to your safe provider to discover which ones follow these safety standards and to find the best option for your location.
What Else?
That’s the bulk of what you should know about gun storage laws in California. However, if you do have additional questions, there are more than 2,000 authorized sellers of American Security safes, so if you want to know more about weapon storage in California, or the state you live in, don’t hesitate to get ion contact with with one of them fore more information about the kind of home safe that’s right for you. Reach out to a locksmithing or sales specialist by contacting a professional from our network of dealers.