Proper Security of Firearms
Important Notice: I am a lawyer licensed to practice in Texas, Colorado, Georgia and the District of Columbia. This article is not intended as legal advice and any person seeking legal advice should consult directly with an attorney. This column is intended only to provide advice of a general nature based upon my own extensive experience both in law practice and with firearms
One of the questions I regularly get from my gun-owning clients are what precautions legally need to be taken to protect themselves and their children when there is a firearm in the home. I own numerous firearms and, even though I have no children, they are kept locked in a safe bolted to the foundation of my home to prevent unauthorized use. This is for my protection so as to avoid liability in the event that firearms are stolen from my home. Gaving been a victim of a vehicle burglary where several of my personal firearms were stolen, I have taken it upon myself to be far more diligent when it comes to safe storage of firearms. It should go without saying that no law abiding gun owners want their firearms to fall into the hands of unauthorized individuals.
The first step in firearm security does not come in your choice of a safe storage device, but rather, in the type of firearm one chooses for home defense. A number of people rely on handguns for home defense. I do not recommend them for homes with children and encourage shotguns instead for a very good reason. First and foremost, a loaded handgun is a weapon that is easily manipulated by a child. This is why I recommend pump action shotguns in particular in homes with small children. While someone of my stature has no trouble wielding a shotgun, a pump action shotgun with an empty chamber will typically be too heavy and bulky for most small children to handle. Further, it's far more difficult for a child to shoot himself with a long gun than it is with a handgun. This is not to say that a shotgun doesn't need to be secured away from children at all times: it's a dangerous weapon and it absolutely does! But mistakes happen and this home defense choice is leverage against those mistakes. Additionally, although an AR-15 is a long gun, it is by its very nature an item that could be seen as more inticing to a child too young to know any better (or one who does know better but is lacking in maturity and self control).
The second thing I would like to touch on is when a firearm is "in use". Of the safe storage laws that already exist, most require that a firearm be secured at any time that it is not in immediate use. Well, what does that mean exactly? I am not going to try to touch on what the law says in this regard and will rely instead on common send. First, the term "immediate use" does not mean that I am actively engaging a threat by firing a weapon. Furthermore, the term "secured" does not necessarily mean that the weapon is locked up. For example, the handgun residing in a holster on my hip every day is both in immediate use and secured. By having the handgun secured in a proper holster on my hip, it is in a location where it is not readily accessible to an unauthorized user while being immediately used by me for the security myself and those around me. Please note my use of the term "proper holster". I have often lamented the sale of "universal holsters" which, in my experience, offer insufficient weapon retention to secure a loaded pistol. A good test for holster retention is to place a loaded pistol (without a round in the chamber) in a holster and to then turn that holster upside down over a bed or couch and give it a good shake. If your pistol falls out of the holster, it's not properly secured by your holster. Active retention systems (such as on the Blackhawk SERPA holsters) are not necessary. My Sig P365 and Glock 26 are both properly secured by high quality leather holsters specifically designed for those weapon systems. The advantages and disadvantages of Kydex and leather holsters are beyond the scope of this article.
This situation is a sharp contrast to my typicaly home defense scenario. I am a single man with no children. I have an adult roommate who is competent and safe in his use of firearms. Therefore, I keep a loaded semi-automatic shotgun next to my nightstand for home defense type scenarios when I go to bed every evening. During the day, that same shotgun resides in my safe. Is that weapon truly either secured or in immediate use while I am sleeping? I would argue that it is, but only because I lock the door to my bedroom from the inside before I go to sleep. That is not only a step which helps to secure my weapon, it is a step which helps to secure me. While a locked interior door is not much of a barrier to a determined intruder, it does provide me a few extra seconds of safety to take control over that weapon system, turn the safety off, and ventilate the intruder. In a home with children, the security of a weapon kept in, on, or around a nightstand may be properly secured in the same manner while one is in the home and immediate vicinity of the weapon. When out of the house, of course, that firearm and every other firearm should be secured in a safe.
This brings me to the topic of safes. The first thing I want to talk about when it comes to safes is this: A sixty gun safe, isn't. While it might be theoretically possible to cram sixty guns into a sixty gun safe, it's not the reality. A precision rifle with a scope, for instance, will take up a lot more room in that safe than a lever action rifle with iron sights. I own around forty guns and will soon need a second safe because by current sixty gun safe just isn't cutting it (I do love my magnified optics). Bottom line: buy a big enough safe. The second thing about safes is my encouragement to choose one that isn't a gigantic pain in the ass to open. The lock on my safe is digital and opens with a six digit code. These safes also come with a large key - which is not easy to use - in case the electronic lock should fail (mine never has). If your storage devices are inconvenient for regular use, the sad truth is that we won't use them. This is why I prefer a digital lock. I do not own a biometric safe and have never used one. Obviously, children should not know the combination to the safe and it shouldn't be something obvious like "12345" (don't use that combination for your luggage or the air shield either), your birthday, or the birthday of a close family member. Use common sense.
To some, a large gun safe may seem like an expensive investment if they live in a home without children and other strong home security measures (such as an alarm system, high quality locks, cameras, etc). I couldn't dissagree more. First off, a few things I have learned about burglaries having been the victim of one and having defended clients accused of others. When it comes to vehicles, most burglaries occur during the night because vehicles tend to be in more public places and there are fewer people around to bust the burglar. For homes, however, most burglaries occur during the day while victims are at work. The reason for this is simple: a burglar is not after you, he is after your property. He doesn't want to be shot. The truth is that large electronics are not the main target of burglars. A burglar knows that the longer he is in your home the higher chance he has of being caught. They are looking for cash, drugs, jewelry, small but expensive electronics (phones, laptops, gaming consoles, etc), and firearms. Why? Because these are items that are easy for the burglar to fence. Even a less expensive safe is a major deterrent to a burglar. He does not have time to crack the safe in your home. However, if he has one or more partners, he may have time to remove the entire safe to his hideout where he can crack it or cut it open with a cutting torch at his convenience. This is why it is important to secure your safe to the floor or wall of your home.
The final thing I want to touch on here is "car" or "truck" guns. This is a gun kept in your vehicle all the time. I used to recommend these based upon the theory that a pistol is there to help you fight your way to the rifle you should have brought. However, I no longer use or recommend a "car" or "truck" gun. Even a high quality vehicle is laughably easy for a criminal to access and most such burglaries happen quicker than you or anyone else will be able to stop them. Second, it's important to remember that your daily carry gun is your last resort for a situation that is statistically highly unlikely to occur. The odds of me, as a civilian, being involved in a situation where I would need something more than my EDC pistol are simply astronomical. The odds of a bad guy breaking into my truck and stealing the gun that I would use to engage such a threat are much higher. Finally, for those who have children, a weapon in a vehicle presents an additional risk your child's safety. I am not saying that one should never have a truck gun. I am simply stating that, in most cases, it is an unnecessary risk.
I hope you enjoyed my article on safe firearm storage and would remind my readers that what works for me may not necessarily work for you in your own life. I am a lawyer. I spend a great deal of time in courthouses and other places where the carry of a weapon is prohibited and where there is a great deal of law enforcement presence able to immediately respond in the event of an emergency. I am also single with no children. While I do believe that high quality gun safe is necessary for every gun owner, it's important to tailor your firearm security measures to the realities of your life.
One of the questions I regularly get from my gun-owning clients are what precautions legally need to be taken to protect themselves and their children when there is a firearm in the home. I own numerous firearms and, even though I have no children, they are kept locked in a safe bolted to the foundation of my home to prevent unauthorized use. This is for my protection so as to avoid liability in the event that firearms are stolen from my home. Gaving been a victim of a vehicle burglary where several of my personal firearms were stolen, I have taken it upon myself to be far more diligent when it comes to safe storage of firearms. It should go without saying that no law abiding gun owners want their firearms to fall into the hands of unauthorized individuals.
The first step in firearm security does not come in your choice of a safe storage device, but rather, in the type of firearm one chooses for home defense. A number of people rely on handguns for home defense. I do not recommend them for homes with children and encourage shotguns instead for a very good reason. First and foremost, a loaded handgun is a weapon that is easily manipulated by a child. This is why I recommend pump action shotguns in particular in homes with small children. While someone of my stature has no trouble wielding a shotgun, a pump action shotgun with an empty chamber will typically be too heavy and bulky for most small children to handle. Further, it's far more difficult for a child to shoot himself with a long gun than it is with a handgun. This is not to say that a shotgun doesn't need to be secured away from children at all times: it's a dangerous weapon and it absolutely does! But mistakes happen and this home defense choice is leverage against those mistakes. Additionally, although an AR-15 is a long gun, it is by its very nature an item that could be seen as more inticing to a child too young to know any better (or one who does know better but is lacking in maturity and self control).
The second thing I would like to touch on is when a firearm is "in use". Of the safe storage laws that already exist, most require that a firearm be secured at any time that it is not in immediate use. Well, what does that mean exactly? I am not going to try to touch on what the law says in this regard and will rely instead on common send. First, the term "immediate use" does not mean that I am actively engaging a threat by firing a weapon. Furthermore, the term "secured" does not necessarily mean that the weapon is locked up. For example, the handgun residing in a holster on my hip every day is both in immediate use and secured. By having the handgun secured in a proper holster on my hip, it is in a location where it is not readily accessible to an unauthorized user while being immediately used by me for the security myself and those around me. Please note my use of the term "proper holster". I have often lamented the sale of "universal holsters" which, in my experience, offer insufficient weapon retention to secure a loaded pistol. A good test for holster retention is to place a loaded pistol (without a round in the chamber) in a holster and to then turn that holster upside down over a bed or couch and give it a good shake. If your pistol falls out of the holster, it's not properly secured by your holster. Active retention systems (such as on the Blackhawk SERPA holsters) are not necessary. My Sig P365 and Glock 26 are both properly secured by high quality leather holsters specifically designed for those weapon systems. The advantages and disadvantages of Kydex and leather holsters are beyond the scope of this article.
This situation is a sharp contrast to my typicaly home defense scenario. I am a single man with no children. I have an adult roommate who is competent and safe in his use of firearms. Therefore, I keep a loaded semi-automatic shotgun next to my nightstand for home defense type scenarios when I go to bed every evening. During the day, that same shotgun resides in my safe. Is that weapon truly either secured or in immediate use while I am sleeping? I would argue that it is, but only because I lock the door to my bedroom from the inside before I go to sleep. That is not only a step which helps to secure my weapon, it is a step which helps to secure me. While a locked interior door is not much of a barrier to a determined intruder, it does provide me a few extra seconds of safety to take control over that weapon system, turn the safety off, and ventilate the intruder. In a home with children, the security of a weapon kept in, on, or around a nightstand may be properly secured in the same manner while one is in the home and immediate vicinity of the weapon. When out of the house, of course, that firearm and every other firearm should be secured in a safe.
This brings me to the topic of safes. The first thing I want to talk about when it comes to safes is this: A sixty gun safe, isn't. While it might be theoretically possible to cram sixty guns into a sixty gun safe, it's not the reality. A precision rifle with a scope, for instance, will take up a lot more room in that safe than a lever action rifle with iron sights. I own around forty guns and will soon need a second safe because by current sixty gun safe just isn't cutting it (I do love my magnified optics). Bottom line: buy a big enough safe. The second thing about safes is my encouragement to choose one that isn't a gigantic pain in the ass to open. The lock on my safe is digital and opens with a six digit code. These safes also come with a large key - which is not easy to use - in case the electronic lock should fail (mine never has). If your storage devices are inconvenient for regular use, the sad truth is that we won't use them. This is why I prefer a digital lock. I do not own a biometric safe and have never used one. Obviously, children should not know the combination to the safe and it shouldn't be something obvious like "12345" (don't use that combination for your luggage or the air shield either), your birthday, or the birthday of a close family member. Use common sense.
To some, a large gun safe may seem like an expensive investment if they live in a home without children and other strong home security measures (such as an alarm system, high quality locks, cameras, etc). I couldn't dissagree more. First off, a few things I have learned about burglaries having been the victim of one and having defended clients accused of others. When it comes to vehicles, most burglaries occur during the night because vehicles tend to be in more public places and there are fewer people around to bust the burglar. For homes, however, most burglaries occur during the day while victims are at work. The reason for this is simple: a burglar is not after you, he is after your property. He doesn't want to be shot. The truth is that large electronics are not the main target of burglars. A burglar knows that the longer he is in your home the higher chance he has of being caught. They are looking for cash, drugs, jewelry, small but expensive electronics (phones, laptops, gaming consoles, etc), and firearms. Why? Because these are items that are easy for the burglar to fence. Even a less expensive safe is a major deterrent to a burglar. He does not have time to crack the safe in your home. However, if he has one or more partners, he may have time to remove the entire safe to his hideout where he can crack it or cut it open with a cutting torch at his convenience. This is why it is important to secure your safe to the floor or wall of your home.
The final thing I want to touch on here is "car" or "truck" guns. This is a gun kept in your vehicle all the time. I used to recommend these based upon the theory that a pistol is there to help you fight your way to the rifle you should have brought. However, I no longer use or recommend a "car" or "truck" gun. Even a high quality vehicle is laughably easy for a criminal to access and most such burglaries happen quicker than you or anyone else will be able to stop them. Second, it's important to remember that your daily carry gun is your last resort for a situation that is statistically highly unlikely to occur. The odds of me, as a civilian, being involved in a situation where I would need something more than my EDC pistol are simply astronomical. The odds of a bad guy breaking into my truck and stealing the gun that I would use to engage such a threat are much higher. Finally, for those who have children, a weapon in a vehicle presents an additional risk your child's safety. I am not saying that one should never have a truck gun. I am simply stating that, in most cases, it is an unnecessary risk.
I hope you enjoyed my article on safe firearm storage and would remind my readers that what works for me may not necessarily work for you in your own life. I am a lawyer. I spend a great deal of time in courthouses and other places where the carry of a weapon is prohibited and where there is a great deal of law enforcement presence able to immediately respond in the event of an emergency. I am also single with no children. While I do believe that high quality gun safe is necessary for every gun owner, it's important to tailor your firearm security measures to the realities of your life.
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