Are Your Firearms Protected Adequately At Home? Part One
For those of us who own guns, keeping them safely in our homes should be a priority, and we should always be able to control who has access to them, and who doesn’t. Home intruders are perhaps the most likely individuals that would seek out, steal and use your guns, but in fact anyone who enters your home may be able to get their hands on them if they’re not kept secure, and this could have tragic consequences.
The safe keeping of guns:
While a glass fronted, locked cabinet may provide adequate protection from kids, it may not be enough to deter an intruder or thief, who will not think twice about breaking the glass to get to the weapons stored inside. However, even the most secure of locks are not infallible, and just because a burglar won’t have the time to try hundreds of different combinations, doesn’t mean that your kids or regular visitors to your home won’t have, especially when they’re home alone.
Protecting your rights to own a firearm:
While anti-gun groups will argue that firearms are dangerous no matter whose hands’ they’re in, and often exploit tragedies and accidents involving guns to support their message, if you are holding the right permits to own your gun, then there is little anyone can do to take it, or them, from you. However, if you are worried about anti-gun lobbyists, the best way to protect your 2nd amendment rights to own a firearm, is to make sure that you can demonstrate responsible gun ownership by locking them up securely within your home.
Criminal liability for gun negligence:
25 states across the country require guns to be locked up where children can’t gain access to them, and while such laws are not a federal requirement, failure to prevent children from being able to reach firearms in the home, may be punishable under the terms of negligent storage, regardless of whether a child has reached the weapons or used them to cause injury. If you’re a gun owner, check your local laws to ensure that you don’t incur any costly penalties for unsafe storage. Even if you don’t have children in your home, you may of course receive young visitors or guests at any given time.
Laws surrounding the locking of firearms:
As previously mentioned, the laws surrounding the safe keeping of guns are strict and can be put into force even if there are no children in the home. Some of the laws require that guns should be locked up as soon as they reach your home from the store, and in an adequate place with a touch lock that should be child-proof at the very least. In California, the law even requires that the safe in which the guns are stored in must meet the regulatory standards for it to be considered a California Department of Justice-approved firearms safety device.
Whether you own 1 gun or 6, keeping them locked up is essential not just for your safety, but the safety of anyone who enters your home, and provided you check your local laws to ensure that your firearms are stored correctly, nobody can take away your right to own them.
California even has gun safe regulatory standards which must be met for the safe to be considered a California Department of Justice-approved firearms safety device. Check your local laws.
