Secure Storage in Delaware
Gun owners in Delaware are required to store guns securely in their homes and vehicles to prevent unauthorized access by children/teens and theft.
To comply with state law, gun owners must do one of the following when they store or leave a loaded firearm within the reach or easy access of a child or anyone who is prohibited by law from possessing guns (unless they are carrying the firearm or it is under their control):
- Store the firearm in a locked box or container,
- Disable the firearm with a tamper-resistant trigger lock, or
- Store the firearm in a location that is not accessible by children or anyone prohibited from gun possession.
In addition, if a gun owner leaves a firearm in an unattended vehicle they must do one of the following to comply with a new state law that went into effect in August 2024:
- Store the firearm in a locked box or container (which does not include the glove compartment unless it can be manually locked),
- Store the firearm on a locked firearms rack on the vehicle, or
- Lock the firearm in the trunk of the vehicle.
Gun owners may be subject to criminal penalties if they fail to follow these requirements and a child or individual prohibited from possessing guns gains access to their firearm.
Keeping Your Homes and Vehicles Safe with Secure Storage
If you’ve made the decision to bring a gun into your home, it’s important to know how responsible gun owners work to keep their families safe by mitigating the inherent risks associated with firearm ownership. Every responsible gun owner securely stores their guns so that they are inaccessible to children and other people who are at risk of harming themselves or others. Here’s why:
- More than 700 children die by gun suicide each year, most often using guns belonging to a family member.
- Nearly 360 children under the age of 18 unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else each year.
- At least one-third of youth gun suicides and unintentional deaths could be prevented with increased secure storage.
- More than 200,000 guns are stolen from individuals every year—a significant portion of those are stolen from cars.
Safety is always an adult responsibility. Kids will be kids, so it’s always an adult’s responsibility to keep children safe. Always assume that curious or impulsive kids may find and touch an unsecured gun, even if they’ve been told not to. If a child handles a gun, a bad decision can quickly become a fatal one. Be SMART adults protect kids by making sure all guns are stored securely, which means they are inaccessible to kids, and by making sure children are never in the presence of unsecured guns.