Gun Laws

[average-joe4]

If I steal my dad's pistol to ctb, will he be in any legal trouble? :/ the ammo is in a different place btw

 

[locked*n*loaded]

It's hard telling. Depends on the state you live in to a degree. If he had it locked up and you busted into the storage, I would say probably not. In that case, seems he did what he was supposed to be doing. Also, there *might* be some consideration given to him as the parent who just lost a child due to suicide. Going after and prosecuting someone who just lost a child due to suicide just isn't a good "look". This is just my take. I am not a lawyer.

 

[J&L383]

Not a lawyer either, and depends on the state. But I tend to agree. If reasonable effort has been made to secure the gun and if the ammo is in a different place he's probably okay. The bigger question is how would you feel if you were your father in this case?

 

[looking4partner]

I think it depends on the laws in your state. If one is under 18, states have been passing laws that if a gun owner doesn't lock their firearm and a minor ends up harmed because of it or is able to access a firearm because of it being left unlocked and use it in CTB, the gun owner can be charged.

If the person who accesses/uses a gun that is not locked in a safe or other method is an adult, I do not know what the possible law around that is.

But, some states are now passing laws that it is illegal to not store your gun in a locked way while you are not using it. And adding new laws to gun & firearm ownership in recent years.

I don't know how storing ammo in a separate location could affect possible charges in the case that it was illegal in your state to leave the gun unlocked, but it would probably be in your dad's favor.

I went to a gun safety course in the past where they taught about rules in my state, but it is very complicated and basically dependent on each individual case. And even if for example, something was illegal, sometimes police will be more lenient with certain people and more strict with other people. (This is my own observation from reading articles about cases and news stories.) And if there's a court case, the outcome would also depend on the opinions of the jurors and what their final decision was.

What I'm trying to say is, someone could be in a situation where they have done something illegal (even accidentally), but there are so many factors that go into:

1) whether they would actually be charged with something,

2) if it would be a severe charge or lowered to something lesser based on their lawyer's skills and the judge's decision

3) and what the opinions of the other people contributing to the final decision are (investigating police officers, jurors, judge, public opinion which people involved in a court case are usually not allowed to look at or read news articles about, but I don't know how strictly the court makes sure that actually happens.)

So, hypothetically let's say it was illegal for your dad to leave the gun in an accessible place. It's possible that after the final outcome of a court case, the people involved would decide that he should not be charged based on the circumstances. And in the end, he wouldn't end up in legal trouble after they came to that decision. Or it's possible that they would decide he should be charged with something.

Since we can't predict the future or know the opinions of the people who would be involved if a court case did happen, even if there was a law broken by your dad, we can't have a definite answer for whether he would get in legal trouble.

Also, I am not trying to be rude. Just emphasizing that even with having knowledge of the specific laws you're asking about related to gun storage, the answer to whether your dad would end up getting in trouble would be more based on probability than a 100% sure "yes or no" answer.

Also, the gun laws/requirements in my state have had a bunch of changes since the time that I went to that safety class (which was not that long of an amount of time in my opinion) and so there are new additional laws now or bills that have been passed and will go into law in another year.

 

[zengiraffe]

If I steal my dad's pistol to ctb, will he be in any legal trouble? :/ the ammo is in a different place btw

Are you legally a minor? In other words, are you under 18 years old? And also, does your dad store the pistol in a gun safe?

If you're not a minor, and if your dad is storing the pistol in a gun safe, then it's unlikely he'll get into any legal trouble, regardless of what state this happens in (assuming you're in the US).

But if you are a minor, or if the pistol isn't stored securely, then you'd definitely have to look up the specific gun laws for your state, because some states are very strict about these sorts of details and may charge your dad with something like "negligent suicide" since his negligent actions (not storing the gun securely in a location where minors are present) could be argued to have led to your suicide.

 

[average-joe4]

Are you legally a minor? In other words, are you under 18 years old? And also, does your dad store the pistol in a gun safe?

If you're not a minor, and if your dad is storing the pistol in a gun safe, then it's unlikely he'll get into any legal trouble, regardless of what state this happens in (assuming you're in the US).

But if you are a minor, or if the pistol isn't stored securely, then you'd definitely have to look up the specific gun laws for your state, because some states are very strict about these sorts of details and may charge your dad with something like "negligent suicide" since his negligent actions (not storing the gun securely in a location where minors are present) could be argued to have led to your suicide.

I'm not a minor, but he keeps it in a closet in the open.