Lesson 2.3: Safe Storage, Transportation, and Unauthorized Access
Purpose of This Lesson
Safe firearm ownership does not end when the firearm leaves your hand.
If a firearm is not under your direct control, it must be secured against unauthorized access.
The simple rule is this: control the firearm or secure the firearm.
Safe Storage at Home
Every home is different, but the responsibility is the same.
Firearms must be stored in a way that supports the owner’s lawful purpose while preventing access by children, visitors, guests, prohibited persons, or anyone else who should not have access.
Safe storage may include a safe, lockbox, locked cabinet, secured room, cable lock, trigger lock, or another reasonable method based on the firearm, the home, and the people who may enter it.
A loose firearm in a drawer, closet, nightstand, vehicle, backpack, purse, or common area can create serious danger.
Children and Unauthorized Access
Minnesota law specifically addresses negligent storage where children are likely to gain access to a loaded firearm.
Under Minnesota Statute 609.666, a person may be guilty of a gross misdemeanor if they negligently store or leave a loaded firearm where they know, or reasonably should know, that a child is likely to gain access, unless reasonable action is taken to secure the firearm.
For this statute, a child means a person under 18. Loaded means the firearm has ammunition in the chamber or in a magazine, if the magazine is in the firearm.
That is the legal floor. Responsible storage may require more than the bare minimum.
Control or Secure
A firearm should either be under your direct control or secured.
Direct control means the firearm is on your person or immediately controlled by you in a safe and lawful manner.
Secured means reasonable action has been taken to prevent unauthorized access. The correct method depends on the situation. The responsibility does not.
Vehicle Storage and Transportation
Vehicles create special risk. A vehicle is not a safe.
If a firearm must be left in a vehicle, secure it out of sight and in a locked container when possible.
Minnesota transportation law also matters. Under Minnesota Statute 97B.045, a firearm transported in a motor vehicle generally must be unloaded and properly cased, unloaded and in the closed trunk, or be a handgun carried in compliance with Minnesota carry law.
Plan before you leave home. Know whether the firearm is being stored, transported, or carried.
Storage While Carrying
If you carry daily, storage is still part of the system.
You need a safe plan for times when the firearm cannot remain on your body, including restricted locations, changing clothes, going to bed, securing the firearm at home, or leaving it in a vehicle when lawful and unavoidable.
Do not improvise storage under pressure.
Davey Defense Standard
At Davey Defense, safe storage and transportation are part of responsible carry.
Control the firearm. Secure the firearm. Plan ahead.
Keep the firearm out of unauthorized hands.