Safe Gun Storage Bill Passes Second Policy Committee Portantino Continues Leadership on Gun Reform

Sacramento, California – On Tuesday, SB 172, Senator Anthony J. Portantino’s firearm storage bill, passed the Senate Human Services Committee.  SB 172 proposes to resolve the problem of improper and dangerous firearm storage in residential homes and residential senior care facilities.  Unsafe storage puts guns in the wrong hands and far too often leads to potentially deadly situations.  The vast majority of accidental firearm deaths, suicides and senseless acts of violence among children are related to easy access of firearms.  In addition, there are serious deficiencies in the law regarding firearms in residential senior care facilities.

“Children are far too often put in jeopardy when they are in homes that practice unsafe gun storage.  Residential storage needs stronger regulation and our senior facilities need formal guidance so both younger and older residents are safe from inadvertent gun violence.   I am very pleased that this needed and common-sense effort is progressing through the legislative process,” said Senator Portantino.

SB 172 seeks to strengthen Child Access Prevention laws to lower incidences of unintentional firearm deaths among our youth.  It insures firearms are properly locked and stored. Specifically, this bill broadens the application of criminal storage crimes, adds criminal storage offenses to those offenses that can trigger a 10-year gun ban, creates an exemption to firearm loan requirements for the purposes of preventing suicide and mandates rules related to firearm storage and reporting for residential care facilities for the elderly. 

SB 172 is supported by the Brady Campaign, Consumer Advocates for RCFE Reform (CARR), Bay Area Student Activists (BASA), Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and Drain the NRA.

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