2024 SB 53 Portantino - requires storage in 'approved firearms safety device'

[Rickybillegas]

Agreed. This pecker-sniff legislature can go felate a herd of vagrant donkeys. Not going to comply with any of it.

The only way they can ding you is if you give the cops probable cause to enter your premises and conduct an inspection.

[Rickybillegas]

Time to wonder again about this horrible bill. Legalscan says "re-referred to App. committee June 11". And that's where it stands today July 26. Anyone have more info or insight on this bill any chance it might be killed for this session?

[7.62mm_fmj]

Seems like any mandated storage law will fly in the face of precedent.

From Heller:
Similarly, the requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional.

[johnnyh75]

can this guy just die off or something i'm sure he lives in safe secure gated community and cops response time is less than 5 min

[Rickybillegas]

Seems like any mandated storage law will fly in the face of precedent.

From Heller:
Similarly, the requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional.

That's a great quote 7.62. It would seem to be clear as day. The anti gunners try to get around it by allowing one gun only 'to be under the control of the owner' and the rest locked up, but the quote says 'ANY', not those under the control of. BTW my Mosin is 7.62 X 54. This law if passed will fall, but how long will it be before it's finally struck down?

[Wherryj]

Isn't this nearly identical to what resulted in the Heller decision?

CA politicians don't care about the laws, the Constitution or courts with decisions with which they don't agree.

[Wherryj]

The only way they can ding you is if you give the cops probable cause to enter your premises and conduct an inspection.

That is, until CA passes the law allowing unlimited searches for "public safety".

[splithoof]

This law if passed will fall, but how long will it be before it's finally struck down?

[Scratch705]

it should be automatic that any law in dispute in court shouldn't be allowed to be enforced.

[MountainLion]

it should be automatic that any law in dispute in court shouldn't be allowed to be enforced.

If taken at face value, that's a ridiculous idea. It would mean that if anyone in the state doesn't like a law, they can stop it by filing a suit against it in federal court, and then for the next few months, the law becomes moot. Even if the law is completely constitutional and reasonable. Once that nuisance suit is taken care of, the next person can file a few months later. All it would take is dozens of activists, and our whole political system would come to a standstill.

If one were to implement this, the reaction would be obvious: the courts would find a mechanism to reject suits within minutes. They might have a judge on standby, just like is done for warrants.

In practice, there is no need for this idea, since it already works that way: If the judge (or appeals panel) finds that a law in dispute is not likely to pass court review, they can enjoin enforcement. This actually happens all the time; the current example is the location-based CCW restrictions of SB2, which are blocked by an injunction.

[Rickybillegas]

So this ridiculous law has passed the legislature and is going to Newsom who no doubt will sign it.
Fortunately, it has been defanged to a degree. For one, the required secure storage seems to include 'safety locking devises'. (trigger locks and cables that are on the roster).
So if I am understanding the final bill we don't have to buy expensive safes on the roster in order to comply.
There are other parts of the bill that re still onerous besides this. When are liberal states going to admit that locking up guns violates HELLER?
There are already plenty of laws against child access to guns and the repercussions.

I invite the more legally educated among us to help us out by highlighting the worst parts of this bill since it is going to become law in Jan. 2026.

[Librarian]

So, here is the link to the enrolled text, the version going to Grusome: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/f...=202320240SB53

Item: takes effect Jan 1, 2026

For now, let's assume the Legislative Summary is adequate as an overview.

This bill would, beginning on January 1, 2026, require a person who possesses a firearm in a residence to keep the firearm securely stored when the firearm is not being carried or readily controlled by the person or another lawful authorized user.

For purposes of these provisions, a firearm is securely stored if the firearm is maintained within, locked by, or disabled using a certified firearm safety device or secure gun safe that meets specified standards.

The bill would make a first and 2nd violation of this offense punishable as an infraction, and a 3rd or subsequent violation punishable as a misdemeanor.

The bill would exempt unloaded antique firearms, as defined, or firearms that are permanently inoperable from these provisions.

The bill would require the Department of Justice to seek to inform residents about these standards for storage of firearms.

By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The 'meat' is in Section 10

25145.

(a) Beginning on January 1, 2026, a person shall ensure that any firearm the person possesses in a residence is securely stored whenever the firearm is not being carried or readily controlled by the person or another lawful authorized user.

(b) A firearm is “securely stored” if
......it is maintained within, locked by, or disabled using a certified firearm safety device or
......a secure gun safe.

(c) For purposes of this section and Sections 25105, 25135, 25205, 27882, and 27883, the following terms have the following meanings:
---(1) “Authorized user” has the same meaning as provided in Section 16745.
---(2) “Certified firearm safety device” means any firearm safety device or gun safe that is listed on the Department of Justice’s roster of tested and approved firearm safety devices certified for sale pursuant to Section 23655.
---(3) “Readily controlled” by a person or another lawful authorized user means either of the following:
====(A) The person or other lawful authorized user is carrying the firearm on their person.
====(B) The person or other lawful authorized user is within close enough proximity to the firearm to readily prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to the firearm.
---(4) “Secure gun safe” means a gun safe that meets the standards for gun safes adopted pursuant to Section 23650.

(d)
---(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a violation of this section is punishable by a fine of up to two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for a first violation and up to five hundred dollars ($500) for a second violation. A third and any subsequent violation is a misdemeanor.
---(2) A person shall not be penalized for violating this section if they secure their firearm using a firearm safety device or gun safe that they reasonably believed to meet the requirements of this section, including a firearm safety device that was certified at the time the individual purchased the device or a safe that met the standards for gun safes adopted pursuant to Section 23650 at the time the individual purchased the safe.

(e) The provisions of this section are cumulative and do not restrict the application of any other law. However, an act or omission punishable in different ways by different provisions of law shall not be punished under more than one provision.

(f) The Department of Justice shall seek to inform residents about the standards of storage of firearms as outlined in this section.

(g) This section does not apply to unloaded antique firearms, as defined in Section 921(a)(16) of Title 18 of the United States Code, or firearms that are permanently inoperable.

Note (d)(2), bolded above.

[flyer898]

I read this through a couple of times, and it looks like the one-year prohibition on possessing firearms did not make it to the final version of the bill.

[FourT6and2]

lol so what do you do if you travel for competitions or to hunt or for any other reason? It's not like anybody is gonna haul a giant gun safe around on a hand truck through a Holiday Inn lobby to store their rifle or shotgun

[Rickybillegas]

The $7 Mossberg cable lock that a dealer gave me gratis is on the CA DOJ roster of safety devices. That's all I will spend on this bill.