Montana has no law that imposes a penalty on someone who fails to secure an unattended firearm and leaves it accessible to an unsupervised minor.

However, Montana does prohibit a parent, guardian, or other person having charge or custody of a minor child under the age of 14 from allowing the child to carry or use any firearms in public, except when the child is accompanied by a person having charge or custody of the child or under the supervision of a qualified firearms safety instructor or an adult who has been authorized by the parent or guardian.¹ A violation of this statute constitutes a misdemeanor.² The county attorney is required to prosecute reported violations of the law.³

State administrative regulations address storage of firearms in youth foster homes and licensed child care facilities.⁴

Montana has no law that requires unattended firearms to be stored in a certain way.

Montana also does not require a locking device to accompany the sale of a firearm, and no state statutes require firearm owners to affirmatively lock their weapons.

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1. Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-344.[↩]
2. Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-345(1).[↩]
3. Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-345.[↩]
4. Mont. Admin. R. 37.51.901(13) and 37.95.121(4).[↩]