Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Mandatory Storage/Trigger Lock Legislation

Thursday, July 29, 1999

President Clinton in 1997 demonstrated his support for "trigger lock" legislation by issuing an executive order mandating trigger locks on the firearms of all federal law enforcement officers. In general, mandatory storage legislation seeks to require that firearms kept in the home be stored with a trigger or gun-locking device, under lock and key, or in another approved way.

Everyone knows that firearms must be stored safely, but most Americans feel that it is not the government`s business to dictate how people store things in their homes. There is no compelling need for such invasions of privacy for the following reasons:

Today, fatal firearm accidents are at an all-time low.

While the number of privately owned firearms has quadrupled since 1930, the annual number of fatal firearm accidents has declined by 62%. Firearms are involved in 1.5% of accidental fatalities nationwide, far behind the deaths due to motor vehicle accident (47%), falling (15%), poisoning (10%), drowning (4%), fire (3%), suffocation on an ingested object (3%) and other causes. (National Safety Council, National Center for Health Statistics)

Mandatory storage laws that exact penalties are unnecessary.

Most states already provide penalties for reckless endangerment, under which an adult found grossly negligent in the storage of a firearm under certain circumstances can be prosecuted for a felony offense.

Universal mandatory storage requirements are counterproductive.

No "one size fits all" requirement can possibly meet the needs of all American gun owners, whose circumstances vary greatly. For example, gun owners without children in their homes may have different storage needs than those with children present. Gun owners who live in high-rise apartments may have different needs than those who live on isolated farms or ranches. NRA`s firearm safety manuals recommend that firearms kept at home be stored inaccessible to unauthorized persons, including children. NRA believes that it is and should remain the responsibility of the individual firearm owner, not the government, to determine how to ensure that guns are safely stored.

In an emergency, a trigger lock can handicap a person who needs a gun for protection.

While firearms kept only for hunting, target shooting or as collector`s items should be stored unloaded, firearms kept for personal protection may be better stored ready for use. Some trigger lock manufacturers recommend that their products not be used on loaded firearms.

Trigger locks and other such devices can fail.

Trigger locks do not make firearms foolproof and are not substitutes for safe firearms handling practices, dictated by long standing safety rules. Reliance on devices, rather than safety rules, can instill a false sense of security that can lead to problems when a device-less firearm is encountered.

Compliance with storage laws is not likely.

Irresponsible people are not likely to obey a law that merely restates their inherent responsibilities.

Enforcement of a storage law could lead to abuses of civil liberties.

Enforcement of a storage law could lead to searches of homes in violation of Fourth Amendment protections. Additionally, arbitrary storage requirements might be imposed. Many American gun owners and civil libertarians are familiar with the British experience with mandatory storage laws and don`t want to see that history repeat itself here. Dating back to the 17th Century, the right to keep and bear arms had a proud tradition in Britain, but passage of the Firearms Act of 1920 shattered that heritage. Suddenly, citizens could possess rifles and pistols only if they could prove they had "good reason" for receiving a police permit--a "firearms certificate." Self-defense, at that time, was considered a "good reason."

In 1936, British police began adding the following requirement for firearms certificates: "The firearms and ammunition to which this certificate relates must at all times when not in actual use be kept in a secure place with a view to preventing access to them by unauthorized persons." Today, in Britain, self-defense is no longer an accepted "good reason" for owning a gun (a dangerously absurd notion that the organization formerly known as Handgun Control, Inc. pushes in this country). In some areas, police will neither issue or renew a firearms or shotgun (added in 1989) certificate without first conducting an in-home visit to ensure that their standards for safe storage are being met. There is no legal authority for these inspections, but if a gun owner refuses to open his door to the police, his certificate is not approved. In many jurisdictions police not only require gun safes, but arbitrarily change the standards for those safes. In many districts, an acceptable safe is one that can withstand a half-hour attack by a burglar possessing a full set of safe-cracking tools. Finally, enforcement of a storage law would divert police from crime-fighting duties.

"Feel-good" legislation is not the same thing as good legislation.

Rather than imposing ineffective laws, NRA believes education is the way to further reduce firearm-related accidents. Nationwide, NRA`s 46,000 Certified Instructors and Coaches train three-quarters of a million trainees each year. Separately, NRA`s award-winning "Eddie Eagle GunSafe®" education program for children in grades pre-K through 6th grade has reached nearly 17 million students nationwide.

TRENDING NOW
California: Governor Newsom Continues His Vendetta Against Lawful Gun Owners Signing Multiple Anti-Gun Bills into Law

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

California: Governor Newsom Continues His Vendetta Against Lawful Gun Owners Signing Multiple Anti-Gun Bills into Law

On Tuesday, September 26th, California Governor Gavin Newsom hosted a signing ceremony in Sacramento where he signed multiple anti-gun bills into law, most notably: an 11% excise tax on all firearms and ammunition; vastly expanded concealed carry ...

Judge Issues Injunction Blocking Three Parts of Maryland’s Unconstitutional Carry Restrictions from Going into Effect in NRA-Backed Case.

News  

Saturday, September 30, 2023

Judge Issues Injunction Blocking Three Parts of Maryland’s Unconstitutional Carry Restrictions from Going into Effect in NRA-Backed Case.

After the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects the right of law abiding citizens to carry a firearm in public, a Maryland court found it was “self-evident” that Maryland’s carry permitting regime ...

Massachusetts: Update on Proposed Sweeping Gun Control

Monday, July 17, 2023

Massachusetts: Update on Proposed Sweeping Gun Control

Late last month, Massachusetts politicians put forth HD 4420, “an act modernizing firearm laws.” This massive piece of legislation re-writes gun laws in the Commonwealth and imposes unprecedented gun-control.

New York’s Ammunition Background Check System: An Expensive Wreck?

Gun Laws  

News  

Monday, September 25, 2023

New York’s Ammunition Background Check System: An Expensive Wreck?

The F-35 stealth jet isn’t the only example of expensive technology that crashed recently. The implementation of New York’s ammunition background check law – the rollout of which was, to be generous, extremely low visibility – was ...

Canadians on Canada’s Gun Control Measures: Expensive, Ineffective, Political Posturing

News  

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Canadians on Canada’s Gun Control Measures: Expensive, Ineffective, Political Posturing

More than three years have passed since Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a ban and mandatory confiscation (“buyback”) of what he called “military grade assault weapons,” which was followed by a national handgun “freeze” ...

Biden Creates New Office to Funnel Taxpayer Funds to Gun Control Advocacy

Gun Laws  

News  

Monday, September 25, 2023

Biden Creates New Office to Funnel Taxpayer Funds to Gun Control Advocacy

Professional gun control advocates have always had a seat at the table in the Biden White House. Now, however, they will not only sit at the table but determine its menu, set it, and compile ...

Seeking Attention, Not Solutions in New Mexico

News  

Monday, September 25, 2023

Seeking Attention, Not Solutions in New Mexico

After several weeks of the abject failure of New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s (D) attempt to suspend constitutional rights in her state, there are a number of theories as to what, exactly, she was ...

Changes Coming Soon for New York State Gun Owners

News  

Monday, August 21, 2023

Changes Coming Soon for New York State Gun Owners

There are some significant changes due to take effect early next month in the Empire State.

Colorado: Anti-Hunting Legislation Initiative 91 Scheduled for Public Comment

Hunting  

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Colorado: Anti-Hunting Legislation Initiative 91 Scheduled for Public Comment

On Friday, September 22nd, Initiative 91 was filed to appear on the ballot in the November 2024 election in a push by anti-hunting advocates trying to stop the age-old practice of hunting predators, such as ...

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Lujan Grisham’s Unconstitutional Order Banning Public Carry

Thursday, September 14, 2023

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Lujan Grisham’s Unconstitutional Order Banning Public Carry

Today, NRA led a coalition of parties in a legal challenge against New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Department of Health Secretary Patrick Allen’s unconstitutional orders banning the carrying of firearms in Bernalillo County ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.