Criminally negligent storage of a firearm

COMMENTARY ON §707-714.5 Act 288, Session Laws 1992, added this section to establish that a person can be found criminally negligent for storage of a firearm if a person keeps a firearm on the premises and the person knows or reasonably should know that a minor can gain access to the firearm without the permission of the parent or guardian and that the minor does obtain the firearm. Conference Committee Report No. 119. Act 148, Session Laws 2021, amended this section to raise from sixteen to eighteen years the maximum age of minors for which safe storage of firearms is required. The legislature found that an estimated 4,600,000 children and adolescents in the United States lived in homes with at least one unsecured firearm and that the presence of unsecured firearms in the home increases the risk of unintentional and intentional shootings. Further, the United States Secret Service and the United States Department of Education reported that in 68 per cent of deadly school shootings, the attacker obtained the firearm from the attacker's home or that of a relative. In addition, over 75 per cent of firearms used in suicide attempts and unintentional firearm injuries among children and adolescents were stored in the residence of the victim, a relative, or a friend. Act 148 raised the age for which safe storage of firearms is required in a home to prevent minors from having access to firearms and possibly causing injury to themselves or others. Senate Standing Committee Report No. 1558. Act 22, Session Laws 2025, amended this section to clarify the offense of criminally negligent storage of a firearm by specifying that the person commits the offense if the person knows or reasonably should know that a minor is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the parent or guardian of the minor. The legislature found that unsecured or improperly stored firearms pose a significant risk to public safety, contributing to accidental injuries, deaths, suicides, theft, and increased lethality in violent situations. Improper firearm storage is especially dangerous to children due to its role in firearm-related accidents and school shootings. The legislature further found that there is a large body of academic research showing that laws requiring secure storage of firearms are associated with significant reductions in rates of suicide and unintentional firearms deaths and injuries among children and teens. Accordingly, Act 22 aimed to reduce firearm-related accidents and crimes by instituting additional storage requirements to reduce unauthorized access to firearms. Senate Standing Committee Report No. 1722, Senate Standing Committee Report No. 1227, House Standing Committee Report No. 818.