Clarify Firearm Storage Law.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 643

Short Title: Clarify Firearm Storage Law. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Rubin, Helfrich, A. Jones, and Clark (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 2, 2025
*H643-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO CLARIFY THAT THE LAW REQUIRING THE STORAGE OF FIREARMS TO 2
PROTECT MINORS APPLI ES TO FIREARMS THAT ARE LOADED AND 3
UNLOADED. 4
Whereas, in State v. Cable, No. COA23-192 (2024), our Court of Appeals held that 5
our criminal statute requiring safe storage of firearms around minors, G.S. 14-315.1, was 6
ambiguous; and 7
Whereas, in that case, the Court declined to consider a firearm to be "in a condition 8
that the firearm can be discharged" when it was stored unloaded and sitting next to ammunition; 9
and 10
Whereas, in that case, a 16 -year-old spending the night at a friend's house found the 11
firearm and ammunition, loaded the firearm, and accidentally killed himself; and 12
Whereas, G.S. 14-315.1 already requires, for it to be criminal conduct, that the firearm 13
be used in a harmful way—such as causing injury or committing a crime; and 14
Whereas, storing a firearm next to ammunition and accessible to minors is the sort of 15
conduct that, when it leads to harm, is plainly within the dangerous conduct the statute is intended 16
to reach; Now, therefore, 17
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 18
SECTION 1. G.S. 14-315.1 reads as rewritten: 19
"§ 14-315.1. Storage of firearms to protect minors. 20
(a) Any person who resides in the same premises as a minor, owns or possesses a firearm, 21
and stores or leaves the firearm (i) in a condition that the firearm can be discharged and (ii) in a 22
manner that the person knew or should have known that an unsupervised minor would be able to 23
gain access to the firearm, i s guilty of a Class 1 A1 misdemeanor if a minor gains access to the 24
firearm without the lawful permission of the minor's parents or a person having charge of the 25
minor and the minor:minor does any of the following: 26
(1) Possesses it in violation of G.S. 14-269.2(b);G.S. 14-269.2(b). 27
(2) Exhibits it in a public place in a careless, angry, or threatening 28
manner;manner. 29
(3) Causes personal injury or death with it not in self defense; ordefense. 30
(4) Uses it in the commission of a crime. 31
…." 32
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective December 1, 2025, and applies to offenses 33
committed on or after that date. 34