N.Y. Penal Law 265.45 – Failure to safely store rifles, shotguns, and firearms in the first degree
§ 265.45 Failure to safely store rifles, shotguns, and firearms in the
Attorney's Note
Under the New York Laws, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class A misdemeanor | up to 364 days | up to $1,000 |
Terms Used In N.Y. Penal Law 265.45
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Firearm: means (a) any pistol or revolver; or (b) a shotgun having one or more barrels less than eighteen inches in length; or (c) a rifle having one or more barrels less than sixteen inches in length; or (d) any weapon made from a shotgun or rifle whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise if such weapon as altered, modified, or otherwise has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches; or (e) an assault weapon; or (f) any other weapon that is not otherwise defined in this section containing any component that provides housing or a structure designed to hold or integrate any fire control component that is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by action of explosive. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
- Rifle: means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger using either: (a) fixed metallic cartridge; or (b) each projectile and explosive charge are loaded individually for each shot discharged. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
- Serious offense: means (a) any of the following offenses defined in the current penal law and any offense in any jurisdiction or the former penal law that includes all of the essential elements of any of the following offenses: illegally using, carrying or possessing a pistol or other dangerous weapon; possession of burglar's tools; criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree; escape in the third degree; jostling; fraudulent accosting; endangering the welfare of a child; obscenity in the third degree; issuing abortional articles; permitting prostitution; promoting prostitution in the third degree; stalking in the fourth degree; stalking in the third degree; sexual misconduct; forcible touching; sexual abuse in the third degree; sexual abuse in the second degree; criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree; criminally possessing a hypodermic instrument; criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree; criminal possession of methamphetamine manufacturing material in the second degree; and a hate crime defined in article four hundred eighty-five of this chapter. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
- Shotgun: means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive to fire through a smooth or rifled bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger using either: (a) a fixed shotgun shell; or (b) a projectile or number of ball shot and explosive charge are loaded individually for each shot discharged. See N.Y. Penal Law 265.00
first degree.
1. No person who owns or is custodian of a rifle, shotgun or firearm who resides with an individual who: (i) is under eighteen years of age; (ii) such person knows or has reason to know is prohibited from possessing a rifle, shotgun or firearm pursuant to a temporary or final extreme risk protection order issued under Article 63-A of the civil practice law and rules or 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) (1), (4), (8) or (9); or (iii) such person knows or has reason to know is prohibited from possessing a rifle, shotgun or firearm based on a conviction for a felony or a serious offense, shall store or otherwise leave such rifle, shotgun or firearm out of his or her immediate possession or control without having first securely locked such rifle, shotgun or firearm in an appropriate safe storage depository or rendered it incapable of being fired by use of a gun locking device appropriate to that weapon.
2. No person shall store or otherwise leave a rifle, shotgun, or firearm out of such person's immediate possession or control inside a vehicle without first removing the ammunition from and securely locking such rifle, shotgun, or firearm in an appropriate safe storage depository out of sight from outside of the vehicle; provided, however, this subdivision shall not apply to a police officer as such term is defined in subdivision thirty-four of § 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, a qualified law enforcement officer authorized to carry concealed firearms pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 926B, or a person in the military service of the United States or the state of New York when such police officer, qualified law enforcement officer, or person in such military service is acting in the course of such person's official duty or employment and otherwise complying with any applicable standards or requirements pertaining to the storage of such rifle, shotgun, or firearm.
3. For purposes of this section "safe storage depository" shall mean a safe or other secure container which, when locked, is incapable of being opened without the key, keypad, combination or other unlocking mechanism and is capable of preventing an unauthorized person from obtaining access to and possession of the weapon contained therein and shall be fire, impact, and tamper resistant. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect, impair or supersede any special or local act relating to the safe storage of rifles, shotguns or firearms which impose additional requirements on the owner or custodian of such weapons. For the purposes of subdivision two of this section, a glove compartment or glove box shall not be considered an appropriate safe storage depository.
4. It shall not be a violation of this section to allow a person less than eighteen years of age access to: (i) a firearm, rifle or shotgun for lawful use as authorized under paragraph seven or seven-e of subdivision a of section 265.20 of this article, or (ii) a rifle or shotgun for lawful use as authorized by Article 11 of the environmental conservation law when such person less than eighteen years of age is the holder of a hunting license or permit and such rifle or shotgun is used in accordance with such law.
Failure to safely store rifles, shotguns, and firearms in the first degree is a class A misdemeanor.