CA-FSC FSC Safe Storage 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under California Penal Code Section 25100, what age threshold defines a 'minor' for purposes of the criminal storage of a firearm statute?
- Under 16 years old
- Under 18 years old (Correct answer)
- Under 21 years old
- Under 14 years old
Correct answer: Under 18 years old
California law defines a minor as a person under 18 for purposes of the criminal storage statute.
Question 2: Under California's criminal storage of a firearm law, when is the offense elevated to a felony?
- When a minor displays the firearm in a threatening manner
- When a minor obtains the firearm and causes death or great bodily injury (Correct answer)
- When a minor handles the firearm without injury
- When a minor knows where the firearm is stored
Correct answer: When a minor obtains the firearm and causes death or great bodily injury
First-degree criminal storage is a felony when a minor obtains an unsecured firearm and causes death or great bodily injury.
Question 3: A gun owner leaves a loaded firearm on a nightstand. A visiting 15-year-old takes it to school without it being discharged. The owner may face:
- No charges since the firearm was never fired
- A misdemeanor for third-degree criminal storage (Correct answer)
- A felony regardless of outcome
- Charges only if the owner is the minor's parent
Correct answer: A misdemeanor for third-degree criminal storage
When a minor accesses an unsecured firearm but no injury results, PC 25100 imposes a misdemeanor for third-degree criminal storage.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of California's Child Access Prevention (CAP) laws regarding firearm storage?
- To reduce the total number of registered firearms in the state
- To prevent unintentional shootings and youth gun violence caused by unsecured firearms (Correct answer)
- To limit the number of firearms a household can own
- To require background checks for all household members
Correct answer: To prevent unintentional shootings and youth gun violence caused by unsecured firearms
CAP laws are specifically designed to reduce accidents and intentional shootings involving children who access improperly stored firearms.
Question 5: Which California agency maintains the roster of approved Firearm Safety Devices (FSDs) that must accompany new handgun sales?
- California Highway Patrol
- California Department of Justice (Correct answer)
- California Department of Consumer Affairs
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Correct answer: California Department of Justice
The California DOJ maintains the approved Firearm Safety Device roster; dealers must offer a DOJ-approved FSD with each new handgun sale.
Question 6: Under California safe storage law, the legal responsibility for securing a firearm falls primarily on:
- The local law enforcement agency that issued any permit
- The registered owner or the person who has custody or control of the firearm (Correct answer)
- The firearms dealer who sold the gun
- All adults residing in the home jointly
Correct answer: The registered owner or the person who has custody or control of the firearm
The person who owns or has custody and control of the firearm bears the legal responsibility to store it securely against minor access.
Question 7: A California gun owner keeps an unsecured loaded handgun in a home where a 17-year-old lives. The teenager takes the gun to school and injures a classmate. The owner is most likely charged with:
- No crime because the teenager is almost an adult
- Second-degree criminal storage — a wobbler offense — because a minor accessed the gun and caused injury (Correct answer)
- Only civil liability, not criminal charges
- A federal charge rather than a state charge
Correct answer: Second-degree criminal storage — a wobbler offense — because a minor accessed the gun and caused injury
Second-degree criminal storage applies when a minor gains access and causes injury short of death or great bodily injury, and is a wobbler (misdemeanor or felony) in California.
CA-FSC FSC Safe Storage 2
Under California Penal Code Section 25100, what age threshold defines a 'minor' for purposes of the criminal storage of a firearm statute?