New York Penal Law Section 265.45 creates first-degree safe-storage duties for specified households and for rifles, shotguns, or firearms left outside a person's immediate possession or control in a vehicle. The household and vehicle rules have different triggers, and the statute contains limited exceptions.[1]
Covered Households
The household rule applies to an owner or custodian who resides with an individual who is under eighteen. It also applies when the owner or custodian knows or has reason to know that a co-resident is prohibited by a temporary or final extreme-risk-protection order, by 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(1), (4), (8), or (9), or because of a felony or serious-offense conviction.[1]
When one of those conditions applies, a rifle, shotgun, or firearm left outside the owner's or custodian's immediate possession or control must be securely locked in an appropriate safe-storage depository or rendered incapable of being fired with a gun-locking device appropriate to the weapon.
Qualifying Safe-Storage Depository
A qualifying 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 prevent an unauthorized person from obtaining access to and possession of the weapon and must be resistant to fire, impact, and tampering. A glove compartment or glove box does not qualify for vehicle storage.[1]
Vehicle Storage
A rifle, shotgun, or firearm left outside a person's immediate possession or control inside a vehicle must be unloaded, securely locked in an appropriate safe-storage depository, and hidden from view outside the vehicle.[1]
The vehicle rule does not apply to a police officer, a qualified law-enforcement officer authorized under 18 U.S.C. Section 926B, or a person in United States or New York military service when that person is acting in the course of official duty or employment and complying with applicable storage standards or requirements. This is a conditional official-duty exception, not a blanket exemption.
Lawful Youth Access
The statute permits access by a person under eighteen for lawful use authorized by paragraphs 7 or 7-e of Penal Law Section 265.20. It also permits lawful rifle or shotgun use under Environmental Conservation Law Article 11 when the minor holds the required hunting license or permit and follows that law.[2][3]
Penalty and Local Rules
A violation of Section 265.45 is a Class A misdemeanor. The section does not displace a special or local safe-storage law that imposes additional requirements.[1]