2024-16
Secure Weapons Storage
Sponsored by
Sen. Flavio Bravo (AZ), Sen. Michael Brooks Jiménez (OK),
Del. Ashanti Martínez (MD), Rep. Angela Romero (UT), Sen. Gustavo Rivera (NY)
Rep. Jessica Gonzalez Rojas (NY), Rep. Arturo Alonso Sandoval (OK) and
Sen. Wlnsvey Campos (OR)
Reported to the Caucus by the NHCSL Law and Criminal Justice Task Force
Sen. Antonio Maestas (NM), Chair
Unanimously ratified by the Caucus on November 23, 2024
I. Background
WHEREAS, on December 8, 2018, this Caucus ratified Resolution No. 2018-10, Common Sense Gun Safety to Prevent Terrorism and School Massacres, declaring a deadly gun emergency and recommending policies adoptable individually or as a group to address it; and,
WHEREAS, these included setting the age to buy or acquire firearms to 21 years of age;[1] banning the sale or possession of bump stocks and all other firing speed-enhancing accessories or modifications, high-capacity magazines, assault weapons and other automatic and semi-automatic weapons; universal background checks and waiting periods; extreme risk laws; disallowing weapon returns to family members after confiscation; and rejecting an in-school arms race; and,
WHEREAS, on March 26, 2022, this Caucus ratified Resolution No. 2021-19, Targeting the Data Gaps in Gun Violence and Police Use of Force, calling for states to fund data collection infrastructure and new research into gun violence and its causes, including to evaluate suicide, nonfatal assaults, unintentional shootings, and non-training firearm discharges by law enforcement; the creation of permanent state offices of gun violence prevention and permanent research institutes to study gun violence in their communities and to evaluate and recommend potential policy solutions; and the collection and public dissemination of data on police use of force, as well as accountability and transparency on police disciplinary procedures and outcomes after any use of force incidents, especially deadly force, including by requiring to the furthest extent possible that state and local law enforcement agencies collect and publish those data; and,
II. Secure storage of firearms saves lives and helps prevent crime in Hispanic communities
WHEREAS, nearly 5,000 Hispanic people die from gun violence in the United States each year, at rates disproportionate to their peers;[2] and,
WHEREAS, over 36 percent of gun deaths among Hispanic people are suicides each year,[3] and the rate of gun suicide among young Hispanic people has increased 110 percent over the past decade, higher than the increase among young people overall;[4] and,
WHEREAS, an estimated 54 percent of gun owners don’t lock all of their guns securely,[5] 360 children under the age of 18 unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else,[6] approximately 30 million children in the United States now live in homes with firearms--up 7 million since 2015--and 4.6 million children in the United States live in a home with at least one unlocked and loaded firearm;[7] and,
WHEREAS, policies and practices that disrupt the easy and immediate acquisition of firearms have been shown to save lives, and secure firearm storage can help mitigate the risks of firearm suicide, especially for children; and,
WHEREAS, a study has found that households that locked both firearms and ammunition were associated with a 78 percent lower risk of unintentional firearm injuries and an 85 percent lower risk of unintentional firearm injuries among children and teens, compared to those that locked neither;[8] and,
WHEREAS, another study estimated that if half of households with children that have at least one unlocked gun switched to locking all their guns, one-third of youth gun suicides and unintentional deaths could be prevented, saving an estimated 251 lives in a single year;[9] and,
WHEREAS, in states with secure storage laws aimed at child access prevention, adolescents aged 14 to 17 saw an 8 percent decrease in total suicide rates and an 11 percent decrease in firearm suicide rates;[10] and,
WHEREAS, the youth firearm suicide rate for ages 10-24 increased by 36 percent from 1999 through 2022 in states with no or only reckless access storage laws, but in states with the most protective laws, the youth gun suicide rate was 1 percent lower in 2022 than in 1999;[11] and,
WHEREAS, each year, more than 200,000 guns are stolen, the majority of which are stolen from cars, many of which are funneled into the underground market and used in gun crime, endangering Hispanic neighborhoods; Hispanic people are more than two times more likely to die by gun homicide and four times more likely to be wounded by an assault with a gun than white people;[12] and,
WHEREAS, reporting lost and stolen guns to law enforcement deters illegal gun trafficking; and,
WHEREAS, public awareness is critical to ensuring that guns are stored securely to prevent unauthorized access and theft.
III. Conclusions
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators urges its members and the several states and territories to file and enact legislation to require the secure storage of firearms or improve the secure storage laws that exist in their states, including by requiring that all firearms in a home are stored in a locked gun safe, secure container, or secured with a disabling mechanism when not in use; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators urges its members and the several states and territories to file and enact legislation to require that firearms be securely stored in unattended vehicles to prevent theft, including by requiring that the car be locked and the firearm stored in a locked case secured to the vehicle out of plain sight; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators urges its members and the several states and territories to file and enact legislation to require that gun owners report lost and stolen firearms to law enforcement to allow police to respond more quickly to gun thefts and fight gun trafficking; and,
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators urges its members and the several states and territories to file and enact legislation to raise awareness of secure firearm storage practices, including by creating and funding public awareness campaigns and requiring that schools distribute information on secure firearm storage to the parents and guardians of students.
THE NHCSL LAW AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE TASK FORCE, IN ITS MEETING OF OCTOBER 8, 2024, UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDED THIS RESOLUTION, AS AMENDED, TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FOR APPROVAL.
THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE APPROVED THIS RESOLUTION AT ITS MEETING OF OCTOBER 18, 2024.
THE NATIONAL HISPANIC CAUCUS OF STATE LEGISLATORS UNANIMOUSLY RATIFIED THIS RESOLUTION AT ITS ANNUAL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 23, 2024 IN DENVER, COLORADO.
[1] Some carveouts were included, see the resolution for details.
[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, WONDER Online Database, Underlying Cause of Death. A yearly average was developed using data from 2018 to 2022.
[3] Everytown Research analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, WONDER Online Database, Underlying Cause of Death. Percent change in crude rates: 2013–2022. Ages 10–24.
[4] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, WONDER Online Database, Underlying Cause of Death. A yearly average was developed using data from 2018 to 2021. A percent change was calculated using 2012 and 2021 crude rates. Ages 10 to 24.
[5] Murrow, S. “More than half of U.S. gun owners do not safely store their guns, survey finds,” John Hopkins University, 2018, https://bit.ly/3ivTVba
[6] Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, “#NotAnAccident Index,” Average: 2015–2023, https://everytownresearch.org/maps/notanaccident/. See also, Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, “Preventable Tragedies: Unintentional Shootings by Children,” April 26, 2023, https://everytownresearch.org/report/notanaccident/.
[7] Matthew Miller and Deborah Azrael, “Firearm Storage in US Households with Children: Findings from the 2021 National Firearm Survey,” JAMA Network Open 5, no. 2 (2022): e2148823.
[8] David C. Grossman et al., “Gun Storage Practices and Risk of Youth Suicide and Unintentional Firearm Injuries,” JAMA 293, no. 6 (2005): 707–14, https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.293.6.707.
[9] Michael C. Monuteaux et al., “Association of Increased Safe Household Firearm Storage with Firearm Suicide and Unintentional Death Among US Youths,” JAMA Pediatrics 173, no. 7 (2019): 657–62, https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.1078.
[10] Daniel W. Webster et al., “Association Between Youth-Focused Firearm Laws and Youth Suicides,” Journal of the American Medical Association 292, no. 5 (2004): 594–601.
[11] Kathryn R. Fingar et al., “Two Decades of Suicide Prevention Laws: Lessons from National Leaders in Gun Safety Policy,” Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, September 29, 2023, https://everytownresearch.org/two-decades-of-suicide-prevention-laws-lessons-from-national-leaders-in-g un-safety-policy.
[12] 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: 2018 to 2022. Rates are age-adjusted. Latinx defined as all races of Latinx origin. White defined as non-Latinx origin. Homicide includes shootings by police; Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, “A More Complete Picture: The Contours of Gun Injury in the United States,” December 2020, https://every.tw/33Hto3F.