Davis adopts new ordinance requiring gun owners to use firearm locks at home, in cars
The Davis City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance that requires residents to lock their guns in their homes to prevent firearm theft or any other type of unauthorized access.
“We are experiencing a gun violence epidemic in our country, and after the Uvalde shooting, I asked to bring this ordinance forward,” Davis Mayor Lucas Frerichs said in a news release. “It is imperative that we do what we can locally to help prevent accidental deaths and deaths by suicide in our community.”
The city’s so-called safe storage of firearms ordinance requires Davis residents who have a gun in their homes to store the weapon in a locked container or by using a gun lock safety device. City officials said the safe or gun lock has to have been approved by the California Department of Justice for the storage of that particular firearm.
Residents violating the ordinance may initially be prosecuted with an infraction. Repeated violations within a one-year period would face a misdemeanor. City officials said violations would also constitute a nuisance and may result in administrative fines and abatement proceedings.
“We hope this ordinance will serve as a model for other communities, and there is no doubt it will save lives locally,” Frerichs said in the news release.
There are about 400 million guns in circulation in the United States, and 25% of all households in California have at least one gun, according to the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program.
The city ordinance does not prohibit authorized firearm owners from accessing or using their guns, carrying their guns on their persons, transporting their guns, or from keeping a gun in their immediate possession and control. If the gun is not locked, the firearm owner must have it in close proximity and control, city officials said.
Giveaway at Davis Farmers Market
The Davis Police Department on July 30 from 9 a.m. to noon will host a “Gun Lock Giveaway” at the Davis Farmers Market, handing out free gun lock safety devices. The farmers market on Saturdays is located at Central Park at Fifth and B streets in Davis.
“The ordinance will likely decrease unauthorized access to or theft of firearms as well as the impulsive and dangerous use of firearms in suicide attempts or domestic violence incidents,” Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said in the news release. “This ordinance also shores up gaps in existing state law so that firearms owners will have clear rules for the safe storage of their firearms, both in homes and vehicles.”
State law requires all firearms sold or transferred in California to either be equipped with safety locks or be accompanied by proof that the buyer owns a gun safe. But there is no universal requirement for owners to actually use these locks or safes, city officials said, and there is no requirement covering firearms purchased outside California.
State law already requires handguns left in unattended vehicles to be secured in a locked trunk, a locked container that is placed out of plain view or permanently affixed to the vehicle’s interior or in a locked utility box permanently affixed to the bed of a pickup or other vehicle without a trunk.
Guns safely secured in vehicles
City officials said there are no California requirements that firearms other than handguns, such as rifles or shotguns, be locked or safely secured in vehicles. The newly approved city ordinance extends in-vehicle firearm locking requirements to all guns in Davis. Those requirements are:
▪ The gun must be in a locked container in the locked trunk of a vehicle.
▪ Vehicles with four or more wheels without a trunk must have the gun in a locked container permanently affixed to the vehicle and underneath a seat, covered or otherwise out of public view.
▪ Vehicles with fewer than four wheels without a trunk must have the gun in a locked container permanently affixed to the vehicle.
Without exigent circumstances, the Police Department would enforce the city ordinance when officers are already lawfully in a home or contacting someone in a vehicle for other lawful reasons, city officials said.
The city ordinance requires a second reading by the City Council at its Aug. 30 meeting after which it goes into effect in 30 days, followed by a 30-day grace period for attaching penalties to violations. This will allow the city and police to conduct outreach and educate residents about the ordinance’s requirements.
City officials asked residents with questions about the Safe Storage of Firearms ordinance or gun locks to call the Davis Police Department 530-747-5405 or send an email to policeweb@cityofdavis.org.
This story was originally published July 21, 2022 at 5:25 AM.
