Guns and Kids: Tragedy Through Negligent Firearms Storage

Deputy Sheriffs’ Association of Santa Clara County

By Lance Lee, Member
Deputy Sheriffs’ Association of Santa Clara County 

Lance Lee has nearly 20 years of law-enforcement experience as well as advanced handgun and shotgun training. 

A five-year-old kills her little brother with a gun; a teen, sad and angry over a breakup, uses the family’s gun to kill himself; a fifth-grader wanting to show off carries a firearm to school and the gun goes off in the lunchroom.

 These used to be called tragic, unavoidable accidents. People thought that the gun owner’s grief, guilt and shame were penalty enough. That was then. 

This is now. There’s no question it’s still tragic, but it’s not accidental discharge of a weapon, something that could happen to anyone, like catching a cold.

It’s negligent discharge, and there are laws against it. Here’s an example: Section 25100 of the California Penal Code. Please note, the California law specifically refers to loaded firearms.

While the adult may technically not be criminally liable if a child finds an unloaded gun, the child may still be able to somehow load it, and someone could get hurt or killed. 

The section states that a person is guilty of “criminal storage of a firearm in the first degree” if he or she keeps a loaded firearm anywhere within his or her control and knows or reasonably should know that a child under the age of 18 can get the gun without permission and the child kills someone, including himself or herself, or causes great bodily injury. 

This does not apply if the gun was stolen from a building, kept in a locked container or in a location that a reasonable person would believe to be secure. It also doesn’t apply if the gun is carried by someone or is close enough so the person can get it back easily. Other conditions in which it would not apply are that the gun is locked with a device that makes it impossible to operate, the person is a peace officer or a member of the military using the gun on duty, the child uses the gun in self defense or defense of another person, and if someone never expects children to come to the house. 

The crime is considered a misdemeanor if there is an injury or if the gun is brandished. It carries a penalty of a year in the county jail and a $1,000 fine. If someone is killed or suffers great bodily injury, the crime is charged as a felony. It carries a maximum penalty of three years in state prison and a $10,000 fine.   

Keeping the gun away from anyone but the adult owner through safe, secure storage should be the main consideration. 

The safest way to store a gun is in a strong gun safe with keys or a combination. The combination, if programmed or custom set, must be something the child could never guess or hack. If it’s written down somewhere, that place can never be found. Children are clever and persistent, so the safety of the code is extremely important. Kids can find keys, so go with the combination safe. 

A law can only go so far, so here are four tips that apply to all guns:

1.     Treat any gun as a loaded gun, even if you’ve unloaded it and double-checked that it is unloaded. This is a lifesaving habit.

2.     Always be aware of where you’re aiming or pointing the gun. Don’t point the gun at anything you’re not willing to kill or destroy.

3.     Keep your finger off the trigger until you are absolutely ready to shoot.

4.     Know the target, what’s around it and beyond it. 

Finally, there is no substitute for formal, in-person, hands-on training, usually available at a shooting range. Check online and visit personally to find out what classes are being taught. Classes typically range from beginner to advanced and may concentrate on handgun, rifle, shotgun, or a combination. The range or instructors can tell you the cost and what equipment you will need, if any. 

The right to own and possess firearms is granted under the Constitution of the United States of America. With this right there is an enormous responsibility to have and obtain competency and safety with any firearm.  
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