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A 13-year-old in Billings is looking for a phone charger and opens his dad's nightstand drawer. There is a handgun inside. He does not touch it, but he wonders: is it legal to keep it there? Is he in trouble for finding it? The answer comes from two layers of law, federal and state, and a few facts that every family can use.
What federal law says
Federal law, in 18 U.S.C. 922(x), makes it illegal for a juvenile (a person under 18) to knowingly possess a handgun or ammunition made only for handguns. It is also illegal to sell or give one to someone known to be under 18.
There are exceptions. A teen can use a handgun for work, farm or ranch tasks, target practice, hunting, or a gun safety course, but only with the prior written consent of a parent or guardian, and the teen must carry that written consent the whole time. The law also does not apply when a young person uses a handgun to defend against an intruder in their home.
A separate rule, 18 U.S.C. 922(z), says licensed dealers must give buyers a secure gun storage or safety device with every handgun they sell. Federal law does not set a rule for how adults store guns inside their own homes. That part is left to the states.
State laws, and what the Supreme Court said
Many states have child access prevention laws (laws that can hold an adult responsible when a child gets a gun that was not stored safely). The details differ a lot: which ages count, whether the gun must be loaded, and what penalty applies. Your state legislature's website has the exact text.
There is a limit on how far these laws can go. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a D.C. rule that every gun in the home be kept taken apart or bound by a trigger lock at all times. The Court said that rule made it impossible to use a gun for self-defense at home. The case was about that one rule, and states still pass storage laws of their own.
Why storage matters for teens
A safe storage fact sheet shared by the U.S. Department of Justice reports that in 2020, firearm injuries became the leading cause of injury deaths for children and teens ages 1 to 19. It also says most people who carried out a K-12 mass shooting got the gun from a family member.
Storage does not have to be expensive. The same fact sheet lists a cable lock at no cost to $20, a trigger lock at $6 to $35, a lock box at $30 to $100 or more, and a gun safe at $70 to $150 or more.
What to do, for teens and for parents
If you find a gun, do not touch it. Leave the room and tell an adult you trust right away. Finding a gun is not a crime. Picking it up and carrying it can be, under 18 U.S.C. 922(x), if it is a handgun.
Parents and guardians: the Department of Justice fact sheet says to keep guns locked, unloaded, and stored away from ammunition. Before your child visits a friend's home, it is fine to ask whether there are guns in the house and whether they are locked.
To learn your own state's rule, search your state legislature's site for 'child access prevention' or 'firearm storage,' or ask a legal aid office to help you read it.
À retenir
- Under federal law, people under 18 generally cannot possess a handgun, with narrow written-consent exceptions.
- Dealers must include a storage or safety device with each handgun; home storage rules come from the states.
- Heller (2008) struck down a rule that kept every home gun locked or taken apart at all times.
- If you find a gun, do not touch it: leave and tell a trusted adult.
Sources
Cet article donne des informations éducatives générales, pas un conseil juridique personnalisé. KidsKnowRights n'est pas un cabinet d'avocats, et lire cet article ne crée pas de relation avocat-client. Les lois varient selon l'État, l'âge et les circonstances, et elles changent avec le temps. Pour un conseil sur une situation réelle, adresse-toi à un avocat agréé ou à un organisme d'aide juridique.