New York has a safe storage law. New York law requires locking a gun in a safe storage depository, defined as a container that is incapable of being unlocked without a key or combination lock, or use of a trigger lock when not carried or under the immediate possession or control of the owner if the owner:

• lives with someone who is under eighteen years of age;¹

• knows or has reason to know that a person the owner lives with is prohibited from possessing a gun because of an extreme risk protection order or other protective order, a felony conviction, a mental health adjudication or commitment, or a conviction for a serious misdemeanor;² or

• knows or has reason to know that a person under sixteen years of age is likely to gain access to the gun³.

A violation of this law is punishable as a misdemeanor where the person lives with the individual who is under the age of eighteen or is prohibited from possessing a firearm, and as a violation where the person knows or has reason to know that a person under the age of sixteen is likely to gain access.⁴

Firearms dealers in New York are required to transfer a locking device with each firearm, and include a warning label (either affixed to the firearm or placed in the container in which the firearm is transferred).⁵ The warning must state: “The use of a locking device or safety lock is only one aspect of responsible firearm storage. For increased safety firearms should be stored unloaded and locked in a location that is both separate from their ammunition and inaccessible to children and any other unauthorized person.”⁶ In addition, dealers are required to post, in the place where firearms are displayed or transferred to the purchaser, a notice conspicuously stating in bold print the warning quoted above.⁷

The term “gun locking device” is defined by New York law as:

“[A]n integrated design feature or an attachable accessory that is resistant to tampering and is effective in preventing the discharge of such rifle, shotgun or [other] firearm by a person who does not have access to the key, combination or other mechanism used to disengage the device.”⁴

The Division of State Police must develop and promulgate regulations setting forth the specific devices or minimum standards and criteria which constitute an effective gun locking device.⁸ These regulations can be found at the New York State Police website.⁹

Issuers of firearm licenses must provide resources and information to individuals obtaining a firearm license about safe storage of firearms, child access prevention, and general firearm violence prevention. This must include literature on state and local laws related to safe storage.¹⁰

MEDIA REQUESTS

Our experts can speak to the full spectrum of gun violence prevention issues. Have a question? Email us at media@giffords.org.

Contact

1. New York Penal Law § 265.45.[↩]
2. Id.[↩]
3. Id. § 265.50[↩]
4. New York Penal Law §§ 265.45, 265.50.[↩]
5. New York Gen. Bus. Law § 396-ee(1).[↩]
6. New York Gen. Bus. Law § 396-ee(2).[↩]
7. New York Gen. Bus. Law § 396-ee(2).[↩]
8. New York Gen. Bus. Law § 396-ee(1).[↩]
9. See also N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9, § 471.1 et seq.[↩]
10. N.Y. Penal Law §400.00(18).[↩]