H.R. 1564: Ethan's Law

H.R. 1564 creates a national safe-storage rule for firearms kept at home. If you control a residence and know, or reasonably should know, that a child is likely to access the gun without a parent or guardian's permission, or that a prohibited resident could get it, you would have to secure the firearm, keep it in a place a reasonable person would consider secure, or keep it on or close to your person.

The penalties escalate fast. A basic violation carries a $500 fine for each violation, which means more than one improperly stored firearm could mean more than one fine. If a child or prohibited resident gets the gun and causes injury or death, the person who stored it improperly could also face criminal penalties of up to 5 years in prison.

The bill goes beyond fines and jail time. It also says firearms stored in violation could be seized and forfeited, and it includes a Sense of Congress stating that violating the storage rule should count as negligence in civil cases. Congress also says that if the storage violation set the harm in motion, it should still be treated as a legal cause even when another person intentionally pulled the trigger.

Supporters are likely to lean on the findings section. The bill's findings cite 73% of children under 10 in homes with firearms knowing where the guns are, 36% handling unsecured firearms, and 65% of deadly school shootings involving a gun taken from the attacker's home or a relative's home. The findings also cite nearly 2 million firearms reported stolen in the last decade.