HomeMy WebLinkAbout091223-03.1
STUDY STUDY SESSION MEMORANDUM 3.1
TO: Mayor and Town Council September 12, 2023
SUBJECT: Discussion of Potential Gun Safe Storage Ordinance
BACKGROUND
At the Town Council’s regular meeting of June 6, 2023, several individuals addressed the
Council under “Good of the Town” to request the Council schedule a future agenda item
to consider a potential gun safe storage ordinance. Consistent with the Town Council’s
Rules of Procedure, a majority of the Council asked staff to place the item on a future
study session agenda and asked the speakers to provide the Council with any written
materials that they wished the Council to consider. Written materials were provided to
the Town the following day, relevant portions of which are attached to this report.
Procedurally, because the request on June 6 was not on the agenda, under the Brown Act
the Town Council could not, and did not, discuss the potential ordinance. A majority of
the Council simply asked that the item be placed on a future agenda for discussion. It is
also important to understand that under the Council’s Rules of Procedure, “Study
sessions shall be held to allow the Town Council to consider topics for possible future
action or to gather information on topics of interest to the Town. No action shall be taken
on items appearing on a study session agenda.” Therefore, the intent of this memo is to
provide the Town Council with information regarding the model ordinance that was
presented for consideration by those who addressed the Council on June 6 and to
determine if a majority of the Council would like the item placed on a regular meeting
agenda where action could be considered.
DISCUSSION
As this is a topic that the Town Council has not previously discussed, this memo attempts
to provide background information on existing laws regarding gun safety or storage,
what the model ordinance proposed by the speakers on June 6 would do, how the model
ordinance compares to state laws and other local ordinances and potential legal issues.
Each is addressed separately below.
Gun Safe Storage 2 September 12, 2023
Existing Federal and State Laws regarding gun storage/safety
Both federal and state laws address gun safety and/or storage. At the federal level, 18
U.S.C. Section 922(z)(1) provides that a licensed manufacturer or dealer of handguns may
not sell or deliver a handgun to a buyer unless the buyer is provided with “a secure gun
storage or safety device…for that handgun.”
In California, Penal Code Section 23635 contains a similar requirement. The state law is
broader in that it applies to all firearms, not just handguns. It also provides that a new
safety device is not required if the buyer presents proof that they already own either a
gun safe or an approved gun safety device for that firearm being purchased.
California also has two statutes addressing the storage of firearms, both of which focus
on the ability of a child to access a firearm. In general terms, both Penal Code Sections
25100 and 25200 make it illegal to store a firearm on premises under control of the firearm
owner if that person “knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain
access to the firearm without the permission of the child’s parent or legal guardian ” and
the child actually gains access to the firearm. The level of penalty depends on what
happens to the firearm once the child has possession of it.
For both Penal Code sections, there is no criminal liability if the firearm was: “kept in a
locked container or in a location that a reasonable person would believe to be secure ”; if
the firearm was locked with a locking device making the firearm inoperable : or, was
carried by the person responsible for the firearm. Penal Code Sections 25105 and 25205.
(All four statutes can be found in Attachment D)
Model Ordinance proposed for consideration
The speakers from the June 6 meeting submitted a “model” ordinance for the Town
Council to review (Attachment A) as well as a “Safe Storage Fact Sheet” (Attachment B).
The model ordinance would make it an “offense” for any person to keep or store a firearm
at their premises within Danville except in the three following circumstances:
• The firearm is unloaded and stored in a locked container, or
• The firearm is unloaded and affixed with a locking device, or
• The firearm is in the immediate control and possession of the person.
The model ordinance also contains a provision that any owner of a firearm that reports
the loss or theft of that firearm as required by state law (within five days of learning of
the loss or theft) would not be prosecuted for violation of the ordinance. It should be
noted that under the Town’s Municipal Code, the “offense” would be an infraction unless
otherwise specified as a misdemeanor.
Gun Safe Storage 3 September 12, 2023
It should also be made clear that the model ordinance, if enacted, would present
enforcement challenges for the Danville Police Department. Because the required
conduct (storage of a firearm within a residence) would be within a residence, there
would be no basis for the police to inquire as to compliance, likely resulting in becoming
aware of potential violations only after the fact.
How does the model ordinance compare to state law?
The model ordinance provided is broader than state law in two key respects. First, it
would apply to all firearms stored in a residence, not just those where the firearm owner
“knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm….”
Second, it would require that the firearm be unloaded, not simply stored in a locked
container or with a safety device on the firearm.
How does the model ordinance compare to ordinances in nearby jurisdictions?
The speakers from the June 6 meeting provided a partial list of other surrounding cities
which have adopted a gun safe storage ordinance. (Attachment C) A number of the actual
ordinances were also provided but are not attached here as they are largely duplicative
of the model ordinance. However, they are available upon request.
In Contra Costa County, the following cities have adopted gun safe storage ordinances:
Moraga and Orinda (both in 2018) and Lafayette, Walnut Creek and Antioch (all in 2022).
On July 18, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors directed the County Counsel
and Sheriff to draft an ordinance mandating safe storage of firearms. As of this writing,
no public draft has been released nor has a date been set for the Board to review a draft.
In the Tri-Valley area, Livermore and Dublin (both in 2020) and Pleasanton (2021) have
adopted gun safe storage ordinances.
All of these locally adopted ordinances are similar to the proposed model ordinance, with
one exception. None of these other ordinances require that the firearm be unloaded-they
only require storage in a locked container or with a safety device. There are a number of
other cities throughout California that have adopted some form of gun safe storage
ordinance, but Town staff has not reviewed them to determine the details of how they
work.
Potential Legal Issues
There are two potential legal issues with the model ordinance: preemption by state law
and conflict with the Second Amendment.
Cities in California may not adopt local ordinances where the state has preempted the
Gun Safe Storage 4 September 12, 2023
field. In general, cities are preempted if the proposed ordinance either conflicts with,
duplicates or contradicts a state law or the state has fully occupied the field. An appellate
decision from 2022 (Kirk v. City of Morgan Hill (2022) 83 Cal.App.5th 976) looked at this
issue in the context of firearm regulation. The court upheld Morgan Hill’s ordinance
noting that the state Supreme Court has previously held that firearm regulation is a field
the Legislature has largely left open to local regulation. It would appear that the same
reasoning would apply to a local gun safe storage ordinance , meaning it would not be
preempted by state law.
Any regulation of firearms is subject to scrutiny under the Second Amendment to the US
Constitution. That scrutiny was changed by the US Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, which now places the emphasis on
whether the proposed regulation is consistent with the historical tradition of firearms
regulation in the United States. Lower courts are just beginning to apply the new rule in
cases working through the system. Thus, while the 9th Circuit upheld the City and
County of San Francisco’s gun safe storage back in 2014, it is not yet clear whether a
reviewing court would reach the same decision today. Any ordinance would need to
contain additional findings regarding historical regulations of firearm storage.
RECOMMENDATION
Provide direction to Town staff regarding any additional information required or action
to be taken with regard to the model ordinance.
Prepared by:
Robert B. Ewing
City Attorney
Attachments: A- Model Ordinance
B- Safe Storage Fact Sheet
C-Peer City Safe Storage Ordinances
D-Penal Code Sections
TOWN OF DANVILLE: SAFE STORAGE ORDINANCE
Ordinance could be added in Sections 4-1.2,4-8, or a new subsection of Chapter 8 or any other
subsection deemed appropriate by the Town Council.
***
WHEREAS, the Town of Danville (the “Town”) does not presently regulate firearm
storage within residential locations; and
WHEREAS, firearm injuries have a significant adverse public health and safety impact
nationally, regionally and locally; and
WHEREAS, unsecured guns may increase the likelihood of crime and violence through
an increased risk of gun theft; and
WHEREAS, access to unsecured firearms may result in accidental firearm injuries
and/or deaths, particularly in homes with children; and
WHEREAS, having a loaded or unlocked firearm in the home has been associated with
an increased risk of firearm-related injury and death, as well as theft of the firearm; and
WHEREAS, utilizing gun locks or lock boxes when storing firearms in the home reduces
the risk of firearm injury and death, as well as theft; and
WHEREAS, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the American Academy
of Pediatrics recommend the safe storage of firearms; and
WHEREAS, despite the safety risks, the majority of gun owners do not secure all of their
firearms;
WHEREAS, both gun rights and gun control activists, including the National Rifle
Association, endorse the use of locking devices when storing firearms to ensure that
unauthorized and untrained persons cannot access firearms to inflict injury or cause death; and
WHEREAS, requiring stored, unsupervised firearms to be secured with gun locks or in a
locked container does not substantially burden the right or ability to use firearms for self-defense
in the home; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council finds that requiring safe storage of firearms would
constitute a sensible safety regulation and would not be unduly burdensome for firearm owners;
and
WHEREAS, the Town Council desires to [add/amend] the Danville Municipal Code to
require the safe storage of firearms in a residence.
ATTACHMENT A
NOW,THEREFORE,the Council of the Town of Danville resolves as follows:
Sec.1.Storage of Firearms.
(a)As used in this section:
(1)“Firearm”has the same meaning as defined in California Penal Code,Section 16520,
as amended from time to time.
(2)“Locked Container”has the same meaning as defined in California Penal Code,
Section 16850,as amended from time to time.
(3)“Locking Device”means a safety device listed on the California Department of
Justice’s roster of firearm safety devices (as defined in California Penal Code sections 16540 &
23635,as amended from time to time).
(4)“Unloaded”means without a cartridge
(i)in the chamber of the firearm;
(ii)in the cylinder of the firearm,if the firearm is a revolver;or
(iii)in the magazine of the firearm,if any part of the magazine is in or
affixed to the firearm.
(b)It shall be an offense for a person to store or keep any Firearm on any premises located
within the Town of Danville owned or controlled by that person unless the Firearm is:
(1)unloaded and in a Locked Container;or
(2)unloaded and affixed with a Locking Device;or
(2)carried on the person,or is otherwise in the immediate control and possession,of an
individual in accordance with all applicable local,state and/or federal laws.
(c)Subsection (b)shall not apply to:
(1)A Firearm stored or kept on premises owned by or under the control of a law
enforcement agency.
(2)A Firearm stored or kept on the business premise of federally licensed firearms
dealer.
(d)To encourage reporting of lost or stolen Firearms,a person who complies with California
Penal Code section 25250 (as amended from time to time)by reporting the loss or theft of a
Firearm they own or possess to a local law enforcement agency within five (5)days from the
time they knew or reasonably should have known the Firearm had been lost or stolen shall not
be prosecuted for violation of subsection (a).
(e)A first violation of subsection (b)shall constitute an infraction,punishable by a fine not
exceeding $250.00.A second or subsequent violation of subsection (b)shall constitute a
misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000.00.
(f)This ordinance shall become effective thirty (30)days after its final passage and adoption.
(g)If any section,subsection,sentence,clause,phrase or portion of this ordinance for any
reason is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent
jurisdiction,such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.
The Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance,and each section,
subsection,sentence,clause,phrase or portion thereof,irrespective of the fact that any one of
more sections,subsections,sentences,clauses,phrases or portions thereof be declared invalid
or unconstitutional.
(h)The Town Manager shall have this ordinance published in a newspaper of general
circulation within 30 days after the effective date.
Safe Storage Fact Sheet
Ask: This ordinance is intended to close a loophole within the California state law, requiring safe
storage of firearms in all households, not just homes with children. Similar ordinances have
been passed in a number of our peer communities in the East Bay.
Safe Storage Information and Statistics:
● Why is this needed vs. California law
○ The California state safe storage law has two important deficiencies.
■ First, the state law doesn’t specify what safe storage actually means
(though a DOJ-approved lock, or a trigger lock, is the consensus best
practice).
■ Second, the state law only applies in homes where children live, likely to
gain access or if living with someone prohibited from having a firearm. A
local safe storage ordinance expands that to all homes.
○ This is an important distinction because:
■ First, children enter homes unexpectedly all the time. Here are three
real-life examples:
● A babysitter brought a small child she was caring for that day over
to her boyfriend's house and while she was visiting with her
boyfriend, the child found his unsecured weapon and shot herself
in the leg.
● An electrician was called to a house on business and brought his
child, who was sick and not in school that day. While his father
worked, the boy wandered into a room where a loaded firearm
was perched on a desk and shot himself dead.
● A young boy was visiting his grandmother who was moving out of
her home after her husband passed away. The boy went over to a
box on the floor and picked up the deceased grandfather's gun to
play with it. Fortunately this gun was not loaded and he survived.
■ Second, regardless of children, unsecured firearms quickly become crime
guns when stolen in home robberies. Locking guns up prevents this.
○ Studies have found that households that locked both firearms and the
ammunition had an 85% lower risk of self-inflicted and unintentional firearm
deaths than those that locked neither.
1
○ States with safe storage laws saw an 8% decrease in overall suicide rates, and
an 11% decrease in firearm suicide rates, among adolescents aged 14 to 17.
2
○ States with stronger gun laws have lower per capita gun-related deaths.
3
● Children
3 https://everytownresearch.org/rankings/
2 Webster DW, Vernick JS, Zeoli AM, Manganello JA. Association between youth-focused firearm laws
and youth suicides. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2004;292(5):594–601.
1 Grossman DC, Mueller BA, Riedy C, et al. Gun storage practices and risk of youth suicide and
unintentional injuries. JAMA. 2005; 293(6): 707-714.
ATTACHMENT B
○An estimated 4.6 million American children live in households with at least one
loaded,unlocked firearm.4
○Annually,more than 3,000 children and teens (ages 0 to 19)are shot and killed,
and 15,000 are shot and wounded—that’s an average of 51 American children
every day.5
●Suicide
○36 percent of child and teen gun deaths are suicides—1,200 per year.6 In the
case of children dying by firearm suicide,over 80%use a gun belonging to a
family member.7
●School shootings
○In up to 80%of incidents of gun violence on school grounds,shooters obtain the
guns from their own home,a relative’s home or from friends.8 This is why closing
the loophole is important -the relative or friend’s home may or may not currently
fall under the California law.
●Domestic Violence9
○Every month,approximately 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner.
○Access to a gun makes it 5x more likely that a woman will die from a domestic
abuser.
○In 46%of mass shootings (defined as 4 or more people killed),the shooter shot
an intimate partner or family member.
●How to access stored firearms quickly during a home invasion
○Research shows that a firearm can be accessed from a locked safe in
seconds.10 This ordinance also allows someone to have their firearm out of the
safe without a locking device if they physically have it on their person.If they are
10 Lott JR,Whitley JE.Safe‐storage gun laws:accidental deaths,suicides,and crime.Journal of Law &
Economics.2001;44(S2):659-689.)
9 https://everytownresearch.org/issue/domestic-violence/#by-the-numbers
8 everytownresearch.org/reports/keeping-schools-safe.Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund,
American Federation of Teachers,and National Education Association,“Keeping Our Schools Safe:A
Plan for Preventing Mass Shootings and Ending All Gun Violence in American Schools”.
(2020). https://everytownresearch.org/school-safety-plan/.“Protecting America’s Schools:A US Secret
Service Analysis of Targeted School Violence”.National Threat Assessment Center.
(2019). https://bit.ly/2U7vnwa Cox J.and Rich S.“‘The Gun’s Not in the Closet’”. Washington
Post. (2018) https://wapo.st/2TyDnTW CDC,NCIPC,Division of Violence Prevention,“Source of Firearms
Used by Students in School-Associated Violent Deaths,United States,1992-1999,” MMWR
Weekly. (2003). https://bit.ly/2RGthlo
7 Johnson RM,Barber C,Azrael D,Clark DE,Hemenway D.Who are the owners of firearms used in
adolescent suicides?Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior.2010;40(6):609-611.Study defined children
as under the age of 18.
6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,National Center for Health Statistics.WONDER Online
Database,Underlying Cause of Death.A yearly average was developed using five years of the most
recent available data:2015 to 2019.Children and teens aged 0 to 19.
5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,National Center for Health Statistics.WONDER Online
Database,Underlying Cause of Death.A yearly average was developed using five years of the most
recent available data:2015 to 2019.Children and teens aged 0 to 19.Everytown for Gun Safety Support
Fund,“A More Complete Picture:The Contours of Gun Injury in the United States,December 2020.)
https://everytownresearch.org/report/nonfatals-in-the-us/.
4 Azrael D,Cohen J,Salhi C,Miller M.Firearm storage in gun-owning households with children:Results
of a 2015 national survey.Journal of Urban Health.2018;95(3):295-304.Study defined children as age
under the age of 18.
feeling threatened in their home,they can absolutely have the firearm on their
person and ready to use.
●Economic cost of gun violence
○Gun violence costs US taxpayers an estimated $557 billion per year.11 This
includes three types of costs:
■immediate costs starting at the scene of a shooting,such as police
investigations and medical treatment;
●~$30.16 million every day in police and criminal justice costs for
investigation,prosecution,and incarceration.
■subsequent costs,such as treatment,long-term physical and mental
health care,earnings lost to disability or death,and criminal justice costs;
●~$7.79 million daily in health care costs,including immediate and
long-term medical and mental health care,plus patient
transportation/ambulance costs related to gun violence,and an
~$147.32 million per day related to work missed due to injury or
death.
●Employers lose ~$1.47 million on a daily basis in productivity,
revenue,and costs required to recruit and train replacements for
victims of gun violence.
■quality of life costs over a victim’s life span for pain and suffering of
victims and their families.
●Society loses ~$1.34 billion daily in quality-of-life costs from the
suffering and lost well-being of gun violence victims and their
families.
●Legality of the ordinance
○Safe storage laws are consistently held as constitutional and have been upheld
by the federal court.Safe storage simply says firearms in a home need to be
securely stored in a DOJ-approved locked container or disabled with a locking
device that prevents discharge.
○Most firearm owners are law abiding and will follow the law if it is simply in place,
but there needs to be a law. A safe storage ordinance is akin to seatbelt laws and
laws that require private pool owners to have fences or locked gates around their
pools.These laws were passed to reduce deaths and prevent hurting innocent
people,which is exactly the goal of the safe storage ordinance.
○American children are nearly twice as likely to be shot and killed as they are to
die by drowning.12 Yet safety regulations for pools are far more pervasive and
restrictive than those for guns.
●Incentivize disclosure of stolen guns
○An estimated 200K-500K guns are stolen from individuals each year13
○According to the Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Sacramento office,“When
people break into homes or businesses,guns are often the target.…[O]f the
13 everytownresearch.org/stolen-guns.
12 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,National Center for Health Statistics.WONDER Online
Database,Underlying Cause of Death.Data from 2019.Children defined as ages 1 to 17.Deaths by
drowning include deaths that occur in other bodies of water in addition to pools.
11 https://everytownresearch.org/report/the-economic-cost-of-gun-violence/
commodities that we find that people that are involved in criminal activity are
looking for,guns are very high on the list.”14
●NRA’s gun safety rules recommend “stor[ing]guns so they are not accessible to
unauthorized persons.”15
15 https://gunsafetyrules.nra.org/
14 Lynn Walsh,Dave Manoucheri and Mari Payton,Stolen Guns Fuel Underground Market For Criminals
in California,NBC7 San Diego,(Aug.9,2016),available at
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/investigations/Stolen-Guns-Fuel-Underground-Market-For-Criminals-in-Calif
ornia-389352802.html.
Peer City Safe Storage Ordinances
Contra Costa County
1. Lafayette
2. Moraga
3. Orinda
4. Walnut Creek
5. Antioch
Alameda County
1. Dublin
2. Livermore
3. Castro Valley
4. Hayward
5. Pleasanton
6. Union City
ATTACHMENT C
CALIFORNIA PENAL CODE SECTIONS
§ 25100. Criminal storage of firearm accessible to child; elements of crime
(a) Except as provided in Section 25105, a person commits the crime of “criminal storage
of a firearm in the first degree” if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The person keeps any firearm within any premises that are under the person's custody
or control.
(2) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to
the firearm without the permission of the child's parent or legal guardian, or that a person
prohibited from possessing a firearm or deadly weapon pursuant to state or federal law
is likely to gain access to the firearm.
(3) The child obtains access to the firearm and thereby causes death or great bodily injury
to the child or any other person, or the person prohibited from possessing a firearm or
deadly weapon pursuant to state or federal law obtains access to the firearm and thereby
causes death or great bodily injury to themselves or any other person.
(b) Except as provided in Section 25105, a person commits the crime of “criminal storage
of a firearm in the second degree” if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The person keeps any firearm within any premises that are under the person's custody
or control.
(2) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to
the firearm without the permission of the child's parent or legal guardian, or that a person
prohibited from possessing a firearm or deadly weapon pursuant to state or federal law
is likely to gain access to the firearm.
(3) The child obtains access to the firearm and thereby causes injury, other than great
bodily injury, to the child or any other person, or carries the firearm either to a public
place or in violation of Section 417, or the person prohibited from possessing a firearm or
deadly weapon pursuant to state or federal law obtains access to the firearm and thereby
causes injury, other than great bodily injury, to themselves or any other person, or carries
the firearm either to a public place or in violation of Section 417.
(c) Except as provided in Section 25105, a person commits the crime of “criminal storage
of a firearm in the third degree” if the person keeps any firearm within any premises that
are under the person's custody or control and negligently stores or leaves a firearm in a
location where the person knows, or reasonably should know, that a child is likely to gain
access to the firearm without the permission of the child's parent or legal guardian, unless
reasonable action is taken by the person to secure the firearm against access by the child.
ATTACHMENT D
§ 25105. Exceptions to criminal storage of firearm accessible to child
Section 25100 does not apply whenever any of the following occurs:
(a) The child obtains the firearm as a result of an illegal entry to any premises by any
person.
(b) The firearm is kept in a locked container or in a location that a reasonable person
would believe to be secure.
(c) The firearm is carried on the person or within close enough proximity thereto that the
individual can readily retrieve and use the firearm as if carried on the person.
(d) The firearm is locked with a locking device, as defined in Section 16860, which has
rendered the firearm inoperable.
(e) The person is a peace officer or a member of the Armed Forces or the National Guard
and the child obtains the firearm during, or incidental to, the performance of the person's
duties.
(f) The child obtains, or obtains and discharges, the firearm in a lawful act of self-defense
or defense of another person.
(g) The person who keeps a firearm on premises that are under the person's custody or
control has no reasonable expectation, based on objective facts and circumstances, that a
child is likely to be present on the premises.
§ 25200. Storage of firearms accessed by children or prohibited persons and carried off-
premises; punishment; firearm deemed as used in the commission of any
misdemeanor as provided in this code or any felony; “off-premises” defined
(a) If all of the following conditions are satisfied, a person shall be punished by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding one
thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine:
(1) The person keeps a firearm, loaded or unloaded, within any premises that are under
the person's custody or control.
(2) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to
that firearm without the permission of the child's parent or legal guardian, or that a
person prohibited from possessing a firearm or deadly weapon pursuant to state or
federal law is likely to gain access to the firearm.
(3) The child or the prohibited person obtains access to that firearm and thereafter carries
that firearm off-premises.
(b) If all of the following conditions are satisfied, a person shall be punished by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding five
thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine:
(1) The person keeps any firearm within any premises that are under the person's custody
or control.
(2) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to
the firearm without the permission of the child's parent or legal guardian, or that a person
prohibited from possessing a firearm or deadly weapon pursuant to state or federal law
is likely to gain access to the firearm.
(3) The child or the prohibited person obtains access to the firearm and thereafter carries
that firearm off-premises to any public or private preschool, elementary school, middle
school, high school, or to any school-sponsored event, activity, or performance, whether
occurring on school grounds or elsewhere.
(c) A firearm that a child or prohibited person gains access to and carries off-premises in
violation of this section shall be deemed “used in the commission of any misdemeanor as
provided in this code or any felony” for the purpose of Section 29300 regarding the
authority to confiscate firearms and other deadly weapons as a nuisance.
(d) As used in this section, “off-premises” means premises other than the premises where
the firearm was stored.
§ 25205. Exceptions to unlawful storage of firearm accessed by child and carried off-
premises
Section 25200 does not apply if any of the following are true:
(a) The child obtains the firearm as a result of an illegal entry into any premises by any
person.
(b) The firearm is kept in a locked container or in a location that a reasonable person
would believe to be secure.
(c) The firearm is locked with a locking device, as defined in Section 16860, which has
rendered the firearm inoperable.
(d) The firearm is carried on the person within close enough range that the individual can
readily retrieve and use the firearm as if carried on the person.
(e) The person is a peace officer or a member of the Armed Forces or National Guard and
the child obtains the firearm during, or incidental to, the performance of the person's
duties.
(f) The child obtains, or obtains and discharges, the firearm in a lawful act of self-defense
or defense of another person.
(g) The person who keeps a firearm has no reasonable expectation, based on objective
facts and circumstances, that a child is likely to be present on the premises.