New York Penal Law imposes safe-storage duties in several defined situations. Section 265.45 covers owners and custodians who reside with specified people and also regulates weapons left outside a person's immediate possession or control inside a vehicle. Section 265.46 separately applies when an owner or custodian knows, or has reason to know, that a person under sixteen is likely to gain access.[1][2]
Storage When Specified People Reside With You
Section 265.45 applies when an owner or custodian of a rifle, shotgun, or firearm resides with any of the following:
- A person under eighteen years old
- A person the owner or custodian knows or has reason to know is prohibited by a temporary or final extreme-risk protection order
- A person the owner or custodian knows or has reason to know is prohibited under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(1), (4), (8), or (9)
- A person the owner or custodian knows or has reason to know is prohibited because of a felony or serious-offense conviction
When one of those residence conditions applies, a rifle, shotgun, or firearm left outside the owner's or custodian's immediate possession or control must first be locked in an appropriate safe storage depository or rendered incapable of being fired with a locking device appropriate to the weapon. The statute does not define immediate possession or control by a fixed distance and does not say that merely leaving a room or going to sleep always resolves that fact-specific question.[1]
Likely Access by a Person Under Sixteen
Section 265.46 creates a separate duty when an owner or custodian knows, or has reason to know, that a person under sixteen is likely to gain access. A weapon left outside immediate possession or control must be secured in the same manner. This rule does not require the child to reside in the home.[2]
Compliant Storage
A safe storage depository is a safe or other secure container that, when locked, cannot be opened without its key, keypad, combination, or other unlocking mechanism. It must be capable of preventing unauthorized access and possession and must be fire, impact, and tamper resistant. The alternative is a gun locking device appropriate to the weapon that renders it incapable of being fired.[1]
Vehicle Storage
A person who stores or leaves a rifle, shotgun, or firearm outside their immediate possession or control inside a vehicle must remove the ammunition, securely lock the weapon in an appropriate safe storage depository, and keep it out of sight from outside the vehicle. A glove compartment or glove box does not qualify. Section 265.45 does not add a separate-trunk condition or require placement as far from the passenger area as possible.[1]
Exceptions for Lawful Youth Access
Sections 265.45 and 265.46 permit access by a person below the applicable age for lawful uses authorized by Penal Law Section 265.20 or Article 11 of the Environmental Conservation Law, including specified supervised activities and lawful hunting by a youth who holds the required license or permit.[1][2]
Penalties
- Section 265.45: Failure to safely store in the first degree is a Class A misdemeanor. Penal Law Section 70.15 sets the maximum jail term for a Class A misdemeanor at 364 days.
- Section 265.46: Failure to safely store in the second degree is a violation punishable only by a fine of up to $250.
Conditional Vehicle Exemption
The vehicle-storage subdivision does not apply to a police officer, a qualified law-enforcement officer authorized under 18 U.S.C. Section 926B, or a member of the United States or New York military service only while that person is acting in the course of official duty or employment and complying with applicable weapon-storage standards. The statute does not create a blanket exemption for law-enforcement personnel and does not list qualified retired law-enforcement officers under 18 U.S.C. Section 926C.[1]
Practical Checklist
- Use a container or locking device that meets the statutory definition.
- Keep keys, combinations, and access codes away from unauthorized people.
- When leaving a weapon outside your control in a vehicle, unload it, lock it in a qualifying depository, and keep it out of sight.
- Check local law because Section 265.45 preserves stricter special or local storage requirements.