Safe Gun Storage
Safely storing firearms is the duty of every gun owner.
Gun safety isn’t just knowing how to handle a gun properly, it’s also about keeping it from getting into the wrong hands. Whether you keep a gun in your car, home or somewhere else, safely storing it 24/7 is a must in order to protect our children, prevent avoidable injury, and keep our weapons out of the hands of criminals. Texas exempts the purchase of firearm safety equipment from Texas Sales and Use Tax.
Together, we can keep our fellow Texans safe!
It’s easy to follow the 1, 2, 3’s of safe gun storage:
- Store guns unloaded and secured using a trigger lock, biometric lock, gun case, strong box, gun cabinet or gun safe.
- Store and lock ammunition safely.
- Keep others from getting access to stored firearms 24/7. That includes family, friends, children or other visitors.
Learn more about how you can help KEEP ‘EM SAFE, TEXAS at SafeGunStorageTexas.com.
4,164 deaths in Texas were due to firearms in 2020 – above the national rate and rising each year since 2011.
Free Gun Locks
Austin Public Health and Lock Arms for Life provide free gun locks to Austin and Travis County residents.
Adult Responsibility
It is unlawful to store, transport, or abandon an unsecured firearm in a place where children are likely to be and can obtain access to the firearm.
Under Texas Penal Code 46.13, a person commits the offense of making a firearm accessible to a child if the child gains access to a readily dischargeable firearm, and the person with criminal negligence:
- Failed to secure the firearm; or
- Left the firearm in a place to which the person knew or should have known the child would gain access
The penalty for allowing a child access to a firearm can range from a Class C misdemeanor (punishable by a $500 fine) to a Class A misdemeanor (punishable by a $4000 fine, a year in jail, or a combination of the two).
