If you live in California, do you need a gun safe for home security, to comply with the law, or just because it’s your right as an American citizen? Or are there any reasons why you must own one at home? What are the specific laws for gun safe in California? What is the gun standard in this state?
In this post, we’ll cover some remarkable reasons and explanations for why do you need a gun safe in California, laws, and useful facts related to this topic. Let’s scroll down to discover now!
Do you need a gun safe in California?
Do You Need A Gun Safe In California?
Gun safety is crucial for firearm owners living in California. To comply with the standards of law enforcement agencies, one must install a gun safe, which is responsible for keeping weapons out of reach from children and thieves alike.
In contrast with other states, California has 108 laws related to gun-owning, including those for proper safe storage. That is why it’s important for you as an outsider or Californian who wants to buy one knowing all its rules and regulations before owning a gun.
The gun safe.
California Gun Safe Standard
The State of California Department of Justice has released new regulations on gun safes. Gun owners should be aware that these standards are not burglary or fire rating standards but construction requirements for the safe’s materials and design. There are three options for a cabinet designed to store firearms: the “gun cabinet,” “lockbox,” or “long guns safe.”
If you live in California, any one-of-these will need to pass either Option 1 (listed below) or Option 2 (listed below).
Option 1
A standard gun safe must meet all the following requirements:
- The safe must be able to secure firearms and provide a locking system. The combination lock should consist of three numbers, letters, or symbols protected by a drill-resistant steel plate for safety measures.
- A safe’s boltwork should consist of three steel locking bolts, each at least half an inch thick and protruding from the door or body into one another. A separate handle will operate them while they secure a lock in place.
- A gun safe must be able to withstand heavy use. The walls shall be made from a minimum of 0.100 inches of steel for single-walled safes, or the sum total of all layers in double-walled safes adds up to at least 12 gauge thick steel sheets.
Doors are also required to have a minimum of one layer 7-gauge sheet and two layers worth 12 gauge thickness so that they can withstand repeated blows over time without failing.
- Protective features may include protecting door hinges and preventing the removal of doors: not exposed to outside; interlocking designs; dead bars, jeweler’s lugs, or active locking bolts.
- A gun safe that will fully contain firearms and provide for their secure storage, while being certified to meet Underwriters Laboratories Residential Security Container rating standards by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).
Option 2:
- Classified as a Residental Security Container
- Capable of containing firearms.
- Provide secure storage for firearms
Option 3:
The California Department of Justice has created a special test that replicates the forces exerted on firearm safety devices, using common household tools for about ten minutes. Each test will be performed in a high-standard Certified Firearms Safety Device Laboratory.
Why Do You Need A Gun Safe?
After understanding the gun safe standard in California, let’s look at some remarkable benefits that the item will bring for you!
Security
Want to keep your valuables safe? If you’re an absent-minded person, a high-security safe is always an effective deterrent! Many burglars are just smash-and-grab opportunists looking for less than ten minutes. What typically takes longer than that is breaking into safes. They act as great preventative items simply by having one in your home.
A gun safe is an extremely important investment in high crime areas for protecting your weapons from theft.
The gun safe will keep your valuables safe!
Quick Access To Your Firearms
Owning a gun safe means you will always be ready for an emergency. You can access your weapon quickly and safely with the quick-access door that opens in seconds by entering the security code or verifying biometric information like fingerprints, eye retina recognition, etc.
As you must have quick access to your weapon, this is when gun safes come to the rescue since only you can open them without any risk of children accessing them accidentally even if they find out about its location.
Fire Protection
A fire-rated gun safe might help you protect those personal belongings if an unthinkable situation happens. In the event of a fire, many items can be replaced, but mementos such as photo albums and heirlooms cannot.
In this case, a safe with a fire rating can protect against damage from common household fires! Experienced technicians test these safes to ensure their effectiveness in protecting your property from heat, smoke, and water damage.
Protecting Your Kids
Kids are experts at getting into everything you don’t want them to. Sometimes they even destroy or gain access to controlled substances like drugs, which could have traumatic consequences for the children themselves.
Thus, it is vital to keep all of your dangerous belongings like guns safe by hiding and locking them up in the gun safe and getting rid of any other potentially dangerous items if you have kids in your home.
To Comply With Child Access Prevention Laws
In many states, keeping firearms in a safe and secure place is the law. This prevents children from accessing your weapons as well as other kids visiting your house!
A Requirement By Insurance Company
If you want to be included in an insurance policy, make sure your safe is certified. A good gun safe with a built-in alarm notifies the police and insurance companies of any break-ins or damages to property inside it. Otherwise, there might be delays when filing claims for stolen goods!
The strongbox.
Protection from Lawyers
A gun safe can offer protection in insurance claim disputes and legal circumstances. While it is impossible for a thief to rob a gun, you can always provide proof of security measures if anything goes wrong.
Tax Rebate
In the USA, multiple states offer tax exemptions when purchasing a gun safe. For example, there is an exemption from sales tax for those who purchase one of these safes in New Jersey and Washington state.
You can also get a write-off for fireproof safes if you keep tax documents and business papers of them.
Similarly, buy a gun safe specifically made to protect your firearms from Florida’s humidity because it will be useful as well!
Useful gun safe.
Legal Defenses To Improper Gun Safe
People can be charged with a crime for having an unsecured firearm. Defense attorneys use different strategies to oppose such serious charges, which includes:
- The firearm is stored in a locked box.
- It is illegal for a child to get access to a firearm.
- The adult who accessed the firearm was not prohibited from owning it.
Parents won’t be charged as criminal storage if children accidentally kill or hurt themselves with guns in their house unless they acted poorly or acted in a certain aggressive way. Parents should not be arrested until at least seven days after an accidental shooting of their child, and the police should not arrest them while the child’s medical condition remains critical.
Conclusion
Do you need a gun safe in California? The answer is yes! You can’t go wrong with protecting your firearms from theft and misuse by making sure they’ve locked away securely in a California-approved firearm safety device.
There’s also the added benefit that if someone breaks into your home or business to steal something else, it will be much harder for them to find any guns inside. If you have anything valuable at all, please take precautions, so no one has an opportunity to break in and rob you blind!
