SECTIONS 25100-25130 - California Statutes

PENAL CODE

SECTION 25100-25130

25100. (a) Except as provided in Section 25105, a person commits
the crime of "criminal storage of a firearm of the first degree" if
all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The person keeps any loaded 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.
(3) The child obtains access to the firearm and thereby causes
death or great bodily injury to the child or any other person.
(b) Except as provided in Section 25105, a person commits the
crime of "criminal storage of a firearm of the second degree" if all
of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The person keeps any loaded 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.
(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.

25105. 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 loaded firearm on any premise that is
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.

25110. (a) Criminal storage of a firearm in the first degree is
punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or two
or three years, by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars
($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine; or 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.
(b) Criminal storage of a firearm in the second degree is
punishable 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.

25115. If a person who allegedly violated Section 25100 is the
parent or guardian of a child who is injured or who dies as the
result of an accidental shooting, the district attorney shall
consider, among other factors, the impact of the injury or death on
the person alleged to have violated Section 25100 when deciding
whether to prosecute the alleged violation. It is the Legislature's
intent that a parent or guardian of a child who is injured or who
dies as the result of an accidental shooting shall be prosecuted only
in those instances in which the parent or guardian behaved in a
grossly negligent manner or where similarly egregious circumstances
exist. This section shall not otherwise restrict, in any manner, the
factors that a district attorney may consider when deciding whether
to prosecute an alleged violation of Section 25100.

25120. (b) In addition to the limitation stated in subdivision (a),
before arresting a person for a violation of Section 25100, a law
enforcement officer shall consider the health status of a child who
suffered great bodily injury as the result of an accidental shooting,
if the person to be arrested is the parent or guardian of the
injured child. The intent of this section is to encourage law
enforcement officials to delay the arrest of a parent or guardian of
a seriously injured child while the child remains on life-support
equipment or is in a similarly critical medical condition.

25125. (a) The fact that a person who allegedly violated Section
25100 attended a firearm safety training course prior to the purchase
of the firearm that was obtained by a child in violation of Section
25100 shall be considered a mitigating factor by a district attorney
when deciding whether to prosecute the alleged violation.
(b) In any action or trial commenced under Section 25100, the fact
that the person who allegedly violated Section 25100 attended a
firearm safety training course prior to the purchase of the firearm
that was obtained by a child in violation of Section 25100 is
admissible.

25130. Every person licensed under Sections 26700 to 26915,
inclusive, shall post within the licensed premises the notice
required by Section 26835, disclosing the duty imposed by this
chapter upon any person who keeps a loaded firearm.