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Report regarding an ordinance adopting Chapter 10.58 of the Municipal Code to require the safe storage of firearms in a residence. (Scott Campbell, Police Captain)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council introduce an ordinance adopting Chapter 10.58 of the Municipal Code to require the safe storage of firearms in a residence.
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
Having a loaded or unlocked gun in the home is associated with an increased risk of gun-related injury and death. According to a 2008 report published in the New England Journal of Medicine, living in a home where guns are kept increased an individual's risk of death by homicide by between 40% and 170%. Additionally, a 2004 national study determined that the presence of guns in the home increased an individual's risk of death by homicide by 90%.
Firearm injuries have a significant public health impact. According to a 2015 study, researchers conservatively estimate that gun violence costs the American economy at least $229 billion every year, including $8.6 billion in direct expenses such as those for emergency and medical care. In California, the direct costs of hospital use for firearm assault injuries alone was estimated at $87.4 million in 2010. Sixty-five percent of these costs were borne by taxpayers.
Children are particularly at risk of injury and death from firearms when firearms are not safely secured in their own homes or in homes they visit. According to national data, children and young adults (24 years of age and under) constitute 38% of all firearm deaths and non-fatal injuries. More than 75% of guns used in suicide attempts and unintentional injuries of children and young adults (0- 19 years of age) were stored in the residence of the victim, a relative, or a friend. Eighty-nine percent of accidental shooting deaths among children occur in the home, and most of these deaths occur when children are playing with an unsecured loaded gun in their p...
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