Senator Portantino Continues Leadership On Gun Safety Authors SB 172 Promoting Safe Home Storage of Firearms

Sacramento, California -  Early in the 2019 legislative session Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D–La Cañada Flintridge) is continuing his leadership for sensible gun control. This week, he introduced SB 172, which would require stronger storage safety of all firearms within the home. Specifically, the bill would make it a crime of criminal storage if an unloaded or loaded firearm were present in the home of a minor or a prohibited person and not safely stored. The firearm must be properly stored and locked with a gun safe or by using a firearm safety device.  According to experts, the vast majority of accidental firearm death, suicide, and senseless acts of violence are due to easy access to firearms.

“It just makes sense to me to make sure gun owners properly and safely store their weapons.  No one should want a gun to get into the wrong hands or cause a tragic accident,” commented Senator Portantino.  “Statistics don’t lie, and home gun accidents occur far too often, and the State of California needs to act. During the last 30 years we have added storage requirements in a piecemeal approach which had resulted in inconsistencies and anomalies. SB 172 is the result of extensive review of current state laws and court decisions modernizes the current states and removes the inconsistencies and anomalies that result in litigation. I recognize that the United States Supreme Court and various appellate have struck down various storage requirements and this legislation takes account of those decisions. The one thing I do not want to do is pass a bill that is struck down which is a waste of effort but also because of loser pay provisions results in taxpayer dollars going for legal fees to the NRA and others that could be better spent on educating children and core government services. ” added Senator Portantino

In recent years, over 2500 children, 0-19, die yearly from firearms, 62.1 % were homicides, 31.4% were suicides while many other incidents cause injure and result in legal interventions.  States with common sense firearm laws have lower rates of gun deaths among children and teenagers, and laws to keep guns away from minors are linked with fewer gun suicides in this age group. In contrast to positions argued by many pro-gun groups regulations on firearms does make a difference.