View source for Child access prevention law

{{Short description|Law that regulate access to firearms}}
{{Globalize||US|date=May 2023}}
A '''child access prevention law''' (often abbreviated '''CAP law'''; also sometimes called a '''safe storage law''') makes it illegal for an adult to keep a [[gun]] in a place and manner so that a child can easily access and fire it. Proponents of these laws, such as the [[Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence]] in the United States, argue that they are effective at reducing accidental gun deaths among children, since they reduce accessibility and thereby risk. The [[National Rifle Association of America]] has lobbied against such laws, arguing that they are ineffective and infringe on the rights of gun owners to protect their homes.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-weisser/child-access-prevention-laws_b_6546772.html | title=Want to Learn About Gun Safety? Just Ask the NRA | work=Huffington Post | date=26 January 2015 | access-date=20 March 2016 | author=Weisser, Mike}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://abc7.com/news/la-city-council-passes-tougher-gun-storage-laws/1053843/ | title=LA City Council passes tougher gun storage laws | work=ABC7 | date=27 October 2015 | access-date=20 March 2016 | author=Granda, Carlos}}</ref>
==United Kingdom==
Since the introduction of licensing with the [[Firearms Act 1968]], it has been a condition of firearm and shotgun certificates that licensed firearms must be securely stored prevent access or theft by unlicensed individuals, including children.
This did not affect air rifles and air pistols which are mostly unlicensed. Section 46 of the [[Crime and Security Act 2010]] imposed a new duty on owners of airguns to take reasonable precautions to prevent persons under the age of eighteen from accessing that airgun.<ref>{{cite web |title=Air weapons: a brief guide to safety |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-weapons-a-brief-guide-to-safety-jan-2011/air-weapons-a-brief-guide-to-safety |website=Gov.uk |publisher=Home Office |access-date=4 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420151918/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-weapons-a-brief-guide-to-safety-jan-2011/air-weapons-a-brief-guide-to-safety |archive-date=20 April 2023 |language=English |date=20 April 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Young People and Air Weapons |url=https://basc.org.uk/download/65876/?tmstv=1683208885 |website=British Association for Shooting & Conservation |access-date=4 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504140237/https://basc.org.uk/download/65876/?tmstv=1683208885 |archive-date=4 May 2023 |page=1 |language=English |format=PDF |date=March 2017 |quote=From the 10th February 2011, the Crime and Security Act 2010 made it an offence for a person in possession of an air gun to fail to take “reasonable precautions” to prevent someone under the age of 18 from gaining unauthorised access to it. The storage of air guns must be reasonable ‘in all of the circumstances’ so air gun owners must take appropriate steps to prevent young people gaining unauthorised access to their air guns. |url-status=live}}</ref>
==United States of America==
===Federal Laws===
There is no federal CAP law, nor does federal law require the safe storage of guns.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/child-consumer-safety/child-access-prevention/|title=Child Access Prevention|website=Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence|language=en|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref>
However, according to Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, it is unlawful for any licensed gun carrier to transfer firearms without safe storage.<ref name=":0" /> The [[Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990]] makes it illegal for unauthorized individuals to carry firearms into an area that, to their knowledge, is a school zone. This law includes public and private elementary and high schools and non-private property up to 1000 feet of a school. A case in 2007, ''United States v Nieves-Castaño,'' found Nieves guilty for having a firearm in her apartment, a public housing project, which was within a 1000 feet of a school. If found guilty, individuals face fines up to $5000, or imprisonment of up to five years. Guilty individuals are also prohibited from purchasing firearms in the future. There have been attempts to repeal the act in 2007 and 2009 but these bills did not pass committee. The law does not however apply to private property, or individuals who are licensed to carry in the state where the school zone is located. The firearm can also be placed in a locked container or not be loaded.{{Citation needed|date=June 2019}}
===State laws===
Individual states decide what actions warrant criminal liability. As of 2019, 27 states and the District of Columbia have passed Child Access Prevention laws,<ref name=":0" /> though 11 states require "intentionally, knowingly, or [[Recklessness (law)|recklessly]]" storing firearms to be criteria for criminal liability, rather than [[Negligence|negligent]] storage.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.statefirearmlaws.org/national-data/2018|title=National Data {{!}} State Firearm Laws|website=www.statefirearmlaws.org|access-date=2019-05-01}}</ref> Four states (California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Maryland) have the most stringent CAP laws that impose criminal liability when a minor is merely likely to gain access to a gun that is negligently stored.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> On the other end of the spectrum, some states, such as Utah, only impose criminal liability when a minor is directly provided a gun by an adult.<ref name=":0" /> In Massachusetts, all firearms are required to be stored using a locking device,<ref name=":0" /> and allowing a child unsupervised access to a handgun can result in a $5,000 fine and/or 2.5 years in jail.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jacobs|first1=James B.|last2=Potter|first2=Kimberly A.|date=1995|title=Keeping Guns out of the "Wrong" Hands: The Brady Law and the Limits of Regulation|journal=The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology |volume=86|issue=1|pages=93|doi=10.2307/1144001|issn=0091-4169|jstor=1144001|url=https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6850&context=jclc}}</ref>
==Studies==
A 1997 study found that CAP laws were associated with a 23% decrease in accidental shooting deaths among children younger than 15 years old.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cummings|first1=P|last2=Grossman|first2=DC|last3=Rivara|first3=FP|last4=Koepsell|first4=TD|title=State gun safe storage laws and child mortality due to firearms.|journal=JAMA|date=1 October 1997|volume=278|issue=13|pages=1084–6|pmid=9315767|doi=10.1001/jama.1997.03550130058037}}</ref> A 2000 study found that [[Florida]]'s CAP law appeared to have "significantly reduced unintentional firearm deaths to children", but that the similar laws that existed in 14 other states did not seem to have such an effect. At the time, only three states in the U.S., including Florida, allowed those who violated their state's CAP law to be prosecuted on felony charges.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Webster|first1=DW|last2=Starnes|first2=M|title=Reexamining the association between child access prevention gun laws and unintentional shooting deaths of children.|journal=Pediatrics|date=December 2000|volume=106|issue=6|pages=1466–9|pmid=11099605|doi=10.1542/peds.106.6.1466}}</ref> A 2004 study found that CAP laws were associated with a "modest reduction in suicide rates among youth aged 14 to 17 years."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Webster|first1=Daniel W.|title=Association Between Youth-Focused Firearm Laws and Youth Suicides|journal=JAMA|date=4 August 2004|volume=292|issue=5|pages=594–601|doi=10.1001/jama.292.5.594|pmid=15292085|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2006 study found that states with CAP laws experienced faster declines in accidental child firearm deaths than states without such laws.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hepburn|first1=Lisa|last2=Azrael|first2=Deborah|last3=Miller|first3=Matthew|last4=Hemenway|first4=David|title=The Effect of Child Access Prevention Laws on Unintentional Child Firearm Fatalities, 1979-2000|journal=The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care|date=August 2006|volume=61|issue=2|pages=423–428|doi=10.1097/01.ta.0000226396.51850.fc|pmid=16917460}}</ref> A 2015 study found that these laws have no significant impact on unintentional gun deaths, but that states with such laws had lower rates of youth suicide.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gius|first1=Mark|title=The impact of minimum age and child access prevention laws on firearm-related youth suicides and unintentional deaths|journal=The Social Science Journal|date=June 2015|volume=52|issue=2|pages=168–175|doi=10.1016/j.soscij.2015.01.003|s2cid=145017217}}</ref>  Another study also points out that prevalence of guns might possibly affect suicide rates in general. <ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kleck|first1=Gary|last2=Patterson|first2=E. Britt|date=1 September 1993|title=The Impact of Gun Control and Gun Ownership Levels on Violence Rates|journal=Journal of Quantitative Criminology|volume=9|issue=3|pages=249–287|jstor=23365752|doi=10.1007/BF01064462|s2cid=144180611}}</ref> Some studies have also found that CAP laws are associated with lower rates of nonfatal gun injuries among children under the age of 18.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=DeSimone|first1=Jeffrey|last2=Markowitz|first2=Sara|last3=Xu|first3=Jing|title=Child Access Prevention Laws and Nonfatal Gun Injuries|journal=Southern Economic Journal|date=July 2013|volume=80|issue=1|pages=5–25|doi=10.4284/0038-4038-2011.333}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Simonetti|first1=Joseph A.|last2=Rowhani-Rahbar|first2=Ali|last3=Mills|first3=Brianna|last4=Young|first4=Bessie|last5=Rivara|first5=Frederick P.|title=State Firearm Legislation and Nonfatal Firearm Injuries|journal=American Journal of Public Health|date=August 2015|volume=105|issue=8|pages=1703–1709|doi=10.2105/AJPH.2015.302617|pmid=26066935|pmc=4504301}}</ref> A recent 2020 study differentiated between states with stronger CAP laws and states with weaker CAP laws and found that stronger CAP laws were associated with a 13% reduction in all shooting deaths among children younger than 15 years old, with a 15% reduction in homicides, a 12% reduction in suicides, and a 13% reduction in accidental deaths.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Azad|first1=Hooman Alexander|last2=Monuteaux|first2=Michael C.|last3=Rees|first3=Chris A.|last4=Siegel|first4=Michael|last5=Mannix|first5=Rebekah|last6=Lee|first6=Lois K.|last7=Sheehan|first7=Karen M.|last8=Fleegler|first8=Eric W.|date=2020-05-01|title=Child Access Prevention Firearm Laws and Firearm Fatalities Among Children Aged 0 to 14 Years, 1991-2016|journal=JAMA Pediatrics|volume=174|issue=5|pages=463–469|doi=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.6227|pmid=32119063|pmc=7052788|issn=2168-6203}}</ref>
A 2018 National Bureau of Economic Research paper found that CAP laws were associated with a 19 percent reduction in juvenile firearm-related homicides (while having no association with firearm-related homicides committed by adults or with non-firearm-related homicides committed by juveniles).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Anderson|first1=D. Mark|last2=Sabia|first2=Joseph J.|last3=Tekin|first3=Erdal|date=2018-11-01|title=Child Access Prevention Laws and Juvenile Firearm-Related Homicides|url=https://www.nber.org/papers/w25209|journal=NBER|series=Working Paper Series |doi=10.3386/w25209|doi-access=free}}</ref> In contrast, a 2016 study found that these CAP laws were ineffective.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kalesan|first1=Bindu|last2=Mobily|first2=Matthew E|last3=Keiser|first3=Olivia|last4=Fagan|first4=Jeffrey A|last5=Galea|first5=Sandro|date=March 2016|title=Firearm legislation and firearm mortality in the USA: a cross-sectional, state-level study|journal=The Lancet|volume=387|issue=10030|pages=1847–1855|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(15)01026-0|pmid=26972843|s2cid=21415884|url=https://boris.unibe.ch/79968/14/Kalesan%20Lancet%202016_postprint.pdf}}</ref>
A survey published by [[Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health]] estimated that 54% of gun owners in the United States had unsafe storage of guns. Additionally, [[Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health]] has estimated that some 380,000 guns are stolen annually from gun owners in the United States. In a separate study, the [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives]] estimated that 18,394 guns were lost of stolen by licensed gun retailers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21739193-washington-dithers-and-argues-some-states-show-way-what-works-reduce-gun-deaths|title=What works to reduce gun deaths|newspaper=The Economist|language=en|access-date=2018-05-21|date=2018-03-22}}</ref>
According to the article on "child access prevention law", There are different level of laws that are enforced when it comes to CAP, but the highest and probably most severe one is the laws that inflict criminal liability when a firearm that wasn’t kept in a safely manner is gained access to by a child. The law says that if a gun that was negligently stored get used by a minor to injure or kill someone, the owner of the firearm will be responsible therefore he will be fined, put to prison, or even in some cases both.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/child-consumer-safety/child-access-prevention/|title=Child Access Prevention|website=Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence|language=en|access-date=2019-04-06}}</ref>
CAP laws, along with other strict firearm laws, are also associated with lower rates of unsafe gun storage among parents of preschool-age children.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Prickett |first1=Kate C. |last2=Martin-Storey |first2=Alexa |last3=Crosnoe |first3=Robert |title=State Firearm Laws, Firearm Ownership, and Safety Practices Among Families of Preschool-Aged Children |journal=American Journal of Public Health |date=June 2014 |volume=104 |issue=6 |pages=1080–1086 |doi=10.2105/AJPH.2014.301928 |pmid=24825210 |pmc=4061995 }}</ref> These laws are not always applied whenever they could be, and sometimes minors are charged instead.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Faulkenberry |first1=J. Grey |last2=Schaechter |first2=Judy |title=Reporting on pediatric unintentional firearm injury–Who's responsible |journal=Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery |date=September 2015 |volume=79 |issue=3 Suppl 1 |pages=S2–S8 |doi=10.1097/TA.0000000000000676 |pmid=26308117 |s2cid=21943383 }}</ref>
In regard to the effects of CAP laws on schools, a study using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey for 1993-2013 found that CAP laws lead to an 18.5% decrease in the rate of gun carrying. The study also found a 19% decrease in students being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property. As July 2004, the US Secret Service and US Department of Education published a study examining 37 school shootings from 1974-2000 that found that in more than 65% of cases, the attacker got the gun from his or her own home or that of a relative.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/child-consumer-safety/child-access-prevention/|title=Child Access Prevention|website=Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence|language=en|access-date=2019-04-06}}</ref> However, the study finds no evidence of a link between CAP laws and a increased or decrease in school shootings.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Anderson|first1=D. Mark|last2=Sabia|first2=Joseph J.|date=2018-08-01|title=Child-Access-Prevention Laws, Youths' Gun Carrying, and School Shootings|journal=The Journal of Law and Economics|volume=61|issue=3|pages=489–524|doi=10.1086/699657|s2cid=155967972|issn=0022-2186}}</ref>
== Opposition ==
[[Marion Hammer]], the [[National Rifle Association of America]] (NRA) lobbyist who promoted [[stand-your-ground]] laws, created the [[Eddie Eagle|Eddie Eagle GunSafe]] program in the late 1980s as a "superior alternative to negligent storage legislation, or laws meant to punish adults when children shoot themselves or someone else with an unsecured gun."<ref name="Trace_nra_safe_storage">{{cite web|url=https://www.thetrace.org/2016/10/eddie-eagle-nra-safe-storage/|title=Academic Who Helped Design the NRA's Child Gun Safety Program Says the Group Is Misusing It|last=Spies|first=Mike|date=13 October 2016|series=The Gunfighters|publisher=[[The Trace (website)|The Trace]]|access-date=20 February 2018|quote=Lisa Monroe says Eddie Eagle was never intended to be a substitute for safe storage laws.}}</ref> By 2016, according to the NRA, who "promotes the program to elementary schools around the country, and pushes state legislatures to pass laws that require schools to adopt the lesson", 28 million children had been gone through the Eddie Eagle program. In 2016, a NRA lobbyist testified against a safe storage bill in Tennessee, saying that the Eddie Eagle program was the best way "to reduce firearm-related accidents" regarding children.<ref name="Trace_nra_safe_storage" /> However, some studies have found its effectiveness questionable.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Himle|first1=MB|last2=Miltenberger|first2=RG|last3=Gatheridge|first3=BJ|last4=Flessner|first4=CA|date=January 2004|title=An evaluation of two procedures for training skills to prevent gun play in children.|journal=Pediatrics|volume=113|issue=1 Pt 1|pages=70–7|doi=10.1542/peds.113.1.70|pmid=14702451}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Gun Control}}
[[Category:United States firearms law]]
[[Category:Gun politics]]