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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.1 - 3500 Safe Firearm Storage Page 1 of 2 STAFF REPORT CITY COUNCIL DATE: December 1, 2020 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Linda Smith, City Manager SUBJECT: Introduction of An Ordinance Establishing Chapter 5.89 (Safe Firearm Storage) to Title 5 (Public Welfare) of the Dublin Municipal Code Regarding the Safe Storage of Firearms Prepared by: John Stefanski, Assistant to the City Manager EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The City Council will consider adopting an Ordinance Establishing Chapter 5.89 (Safe Firearm Storage) to Title 5 (Public Welfare) of the Dublin Municipal Code Regarding the Safe Storage of Firearms. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Waive the reading and INTRODUCE the Ordinance Establishing Chapter 5.89 (Safe Firearm Storage) to Title 5 (Public Welfare) of the Dublin Municipal Code Regarding the Safe Storage of Firearms. FINANCIAL IMPACT: None. DESCRIPTION: Background At its October 6, 2020 meeting, the City Council received an informational report on gun violence prevention policies. Following this presentation, the City Council requested that Staff return with an Ordinance enacting safe storage of firearms regulations. Policy Context The unsafe storage of firearms threatens public health and safety. A 2016 study of gun owners published in the American Journal of Public Health found that while millions of responsible gun owners follow recommended storage practices, an estimated 54% do not lock up all of their guns, let alone store them trigger-locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition. In 2020 alone, there have been at least 236 unintentional shootings by children, resulting in 102 deaths and 141 injuries nationally and seven unintentional shootings by Page 2 of 2 children in California, resulting in two deaths and five injuries, according to data from Everytown Research and Policy. A 2010 study in the journal “Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior” found that over 80% of children (18 years or younger) who died by gun suicide used a gun belonging to a family member. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 637 children die by gun suicide each year on average. Research from JAMA Pediatrics found that the safe storage of firearms can reduce firearm suicide and unintentional firearm fatalities among youth. Furthermore, unsecured guns are susceptible to theft and pose a significant public health and safety hazard. A 2017 study in the journal “Injury Epidemiology” found that national survey data suggests that approximately 380,000 guns are stolen from individual gun owners each year and that gun owners who do not safely store their firearms are significantly more likely to have their guns stolen. Proposed Ordinance The proposed ordinance seeks to curb access to firearms by children and other unauthorized individuals who may be at risk of harming themselves or others. The proposed ordinance prohibits a person from keeping a firearm in any residence unless the firearm is stored in a locked container or the firearm’s trigger lock is engaged. Violations of the ordinance shall constitute a misdemeanor and upon conviction be punished in accordance with DMC 1.04.030. Next Steps The proposed Ordinance shall take effect and be enforced 30 days following its adoption. Copies of this ordinance will be sent to the City’s existing firearm dealers. STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVE: None. NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH: Copies of this Staff Report and draft ordinance were sent to the City’s existing firearm dealers in advance of this meeting. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Ordinance Establishing Chapter 5.89 (Safe Firearm Storage) to Title 5 (Public Welfare) of the Dublin Municipal Code Regarding the Safe Storage of Firearms ORDINANCE NO. XX - 20 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN ESTABLISHING CHAPTER 5.89 (SAFE FIREARM STORAGE) TO TITLE 5 (PUBLIC WELFARE) OF THE DUBLIN MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING THE SAFE STORAGE OF FIREARMS WHEREAS, according to Everytown Research and Policy, in 2020 alone there have been at least 236 unintentional shootings by children, resulting in 102 deaths and 141 injuries nationally and seven unintentional shootings by children in California, resulting in two deaths and five injuries; and WHEREAS, from 2014 to 2018, there were 629 gun-related deaths within Alameda County according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and WHEREAS, the unsafe storage of firearms threatens public health and safety in the United States. A 2016 study of gun owners published in the American Journal of Public Health found that while millions of responsible gun owners follow recommended storage practices, an estimated 54% do not lock up all of their guns, let alone store them unloaded, trigger-locked, and separate from ammunition; and WHEREAS, in 2018, a study published in the Journal of Urban Health found that roughly 4.6 million children and youth under age 18 were living in homes with loaded and unlocked firearms. In addition, a study published in 2006 in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that 73% of children under age 10 living in homes with guns reported knowing the location of their parents’ firearms. The same study demonstrated that parents often believe, incorrectly, that their children do not know the location of guns stored in the home or that their children have not handled their parents’ firearms; and WHEREAS, many young children, including toddlers, are strong enough to fire handguns. A Washington Post report in 2015 showed that toddlers were responsible for an average of one shooting a week that year. In 2013, more preschoolers were shot to death (82) than police officers (27) according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Bureau of Investigation published in October 2015 by the New York Times; and WHEREAS, a 2010 study in the journal “Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior” found that over 80% of children (18 years or younger) who died by gun suicide used a gun belonging to a family member. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 637 children die by gun suicide each year on average; and WHEREAS, Research from JAMA Pediatrics found that the safe storage of firearms can reduce firearm suicide and unintentional firearm fatalities among youth; and WHEREAS, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that for individuals who choose to keep guns in the home, the firearms should be kept unloaded, and locked in a separate location from ammunition; and WHEREAS, unsecured guns are susceptible to theft and pose a significant public health and safety hazard. A 2017 study in the journal “Injury Epidemiology” found that national survey data suggests that approximately 380,000 guns are stolen from individual gun owners each year and that gun owners who do not safely store their firearms are significantly more likely to have their guns stolen. Reporting from The Trace in 2017 also disclosed that between 2006 and 2016, the number of guns reported stolen from individuals increased by approximately 60%; and WHEREAS, requiring firearms to be stored with trigger locks or in a locked container does not substantially burden the right or ability to use firearms for self-defense in the home. For example, affordable lockboxes with Simplex-type locks, which pop open immediately when several keys or pushbuttons are touched in a preset sequence, are widely available. Users report that they can retrieve a loaded weapon in just two to three seconds, and that the locks are also easy to open in the dark. A publication of the Education & Training Division of the National Rifle Association describes this type of lockbox as providing “a good combination of security and quick access.” Some lockboxes also feature biometric locks, which provide immediate access when they scan the owner’s fingerprint; and WHEREAS, the City intends to reduce gun violence and gun-related injuries through this Ordinance. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Dublin does ordain as follows: Section 1. Chapter 5.89 of the Dublin Municipal Code is hereby added to read as follows: Chapter 5.89 SAFE FIREARM STORAGE 5.89.010. Definitions A. “Firearm” means a Firearm as defined in California Penal Code, Section 16520, as amended from time to time. B. “Locked Container” means a locked container as defined in California Penal Code, Section 16850, as amended from time to time, and is listed on the California Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms roster of approved firearm safety devices. C. “Residence” means any structure intended or used for human habitation, including but not limited to houses, apartments, condominiums, rooms, in-law units, accessory dwelling units, motels, hotels, Single Room Occupancy units (SROs), time shares, mobile homes, and recreational and other vehicles where human habitations occurs. D. “Trigger Lock” means a trigger lock that is listed on the California Department of Just ice’s roster of approved firearms safety devices and that is identified as appropriate for that firearm by reference to either the manufacturer and model of the firearm or to the physical characteristics of the firearm that match those listed on the roster for use with the device under California Penal Code, Section 23635. 5.89.020. Prohibitions A. No person shall keep a firearm within any residence unless the firearm is stored in a locked container or disabled with a trigger lock. 5.89.030. Exceptions. This Chapter shall not apply in the following circumstances: A. The firearm is carried on the person of an individual in accordance with all applicable laws. B. The firearm is under the control of a person who is a peace officer under California Penal Code Section 830. 5.89.040. Penalty Every violation of this Chapter shall constitute a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished in accordance with Section 1.04.030. Section 2. Severability. If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstance, is for any reason held to be invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases of this Ordinance, or its application to any other person or circumstance. The City Council of the City of Dublin hereby declares that it would have adopted each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases hereof be declared invalid or unenforceable. Section 3. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect and be enforced thirty (30) days following its adoption. Section 4. Posting. The City Clerk of the City of Dublin shall cause this Ordinance to be posted in at least three (3) public places in the City of Dublin in accordance with Section 36933 of the Government Code of the State of California. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this ____ day of ___________, by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ___________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: ___________________________________ City Clerk December 1, 2020 SB 343 Senate Bill 343 mandates supplemental materials that have been received by the City Clerk’s office that relate to an agenda item after the agenda packets have been distributed to the City Council be available to the public. The attached documents were received in the City Clerk’s office after distribution of the December 1, 2020, Regular City Council meeting agenda packet. Item 7.1 1 giffordslawcenter.org December 1, 2020 City Council City of Dublin 100 Civic Plaza Dublin, CA 94568 Dear Members of the Dublin City Council, On behalf of Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (“Giffords Law Center”), I write in support of the proposed ordinance that will require gun owners to safely store unattended firearms in residences. Founded by lawyers after the mass shooting at 101 California in 1993, in 2016, we joined forces with former Congresswoman and gun violence survivor, Gabby Giffords. For 27 years, the organization now known as Giffords Law Center has been providing legal expertise in support of local, state, and federal gun violence prevention laws to legislators nationwide. Safe storage ordinances are constitutional and currently in effect in 22 California communities—Belvedere, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Millbrae, Moraga, Morgan Hill, Oakland, Orinda, Palm Springs, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Diego, San Francisco City and County, San Jose, San Marino, San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz, Saratoga, Solana Beach, Sunnyvale, and Tiburon. Safe storage laws are consistent with the Second Amendment and have been upheld by all reviewing courts. In the landmark case, District of Columbia v. Heller,i the United States Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment protects a law-abiding, responsible citizen’s right to possess an operable handgun in the home for self-defense. The Court struck down a District of Columbia ordinance that “totally ban[ned] handgun possession in the home” and required “that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock at all times.”ii The Court found the ordinance unconstitutional precisely because it made it “impossible for citizens to use [firearms] for the core lawful purpose of self-defense.”iii But the Court was careful to restrict its ruling to the unduly broad prohibition at issue, specifically stating that its holding was not intended to “suggest the invalidity of laws regulating the storage of firearms to prevent accidents.”iv In 2014, the NRA and other plaintiffs sued the City and County of San Francisco claiming its safe storage law—which required handguns kept in a residence to be stored in a locked container or disabled with a trigger lock when not carried on the personv—violated the Second Amendment.vi The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, in affirming the District Court’s ruling, found that the law did not significantly burden the right to possess a handgun in the home for self-defense, because guns stored safely can be accessed in a matter of seconds.vii The court held that San Francisco demonstrated that the ordinance served a significant government interest by “reducing the number of gun-related injuries and deaths from having an unlocked handgun in the home,” and that the law was substantially related to that interest.viii The court noted that 2 giffordslawcenter.org San Francisco’s law was unlike the law at issue in Heller because it left open other channels for self-defense in the home by allowing residents to carry firearms.ix The United States Supreme Court declined to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision.x Similarly, both the Massachusetts State Supreme Court xi and a New York State trial court xii have reviewed Massachusetts’ and New York City’s safe storage laws, respectively, and found that neither violated the Second Amendment because the laws did not require a firearm to be rendered inoperable in the home at all times. Since 2007 when the gun lobby challenged San Francisco’s ordinance, 21 other California communities have enacted safe storage laws. The gun lobby has threatened to sue all, or nearly all, of them but has actually sued none of them. The proposed ordinance addresses the very real risks posed by unsecured guns in the home. A recent study by researchers at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated that youth suicide with guns has risen dramatically between 2007 and 2014.xiii In fact, gun suicides by minors 10 years old and older increased 60 percent in that period. Studies have demonstrated that the risk of suicide—particularly amongst children and teens—is significantly higher in homes where a firearm is kept loaded and/or unlocked.xiv Additionally, a study of mass shootings demonstrated that in over half of shootings perpetrated by minors in elementary or secondary schools, the shooter used guns obtained from home that were likely unsecured.xv Children and teens are also at risk of death or injury from unintentional shootings. Children as young as three-years-old are strong enough to fire some types of handguns.xvi A 2005 study found that the practices of keeping firearms locked and unloaded, as well as storing ammunition in a locked location separate from firearms, serve as a protective measure to reduce youth suicide and unintentional injury in homes with children and teenagers where guns are stored.xvii More can and should be done to keep guns out of the hands of minors. California’s Child Access Prevention (CAP) law does not go far enough to protect children. In California, individuals may be criminally liable if they negligently store or leave, on premises within their custody or control, a firearm in a location where the person knows, or reasonably should know, that the child is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the child’s parent or legal guardian.xviii No liability is imposed in this situation if reasonable action is taken to secure the firearm against access by a child. The law also does not apply if the firearm was kept in a locked container or in a location that a reasonable person would believe to be secure, or the firearm was locked with a locking device that rendered the firearm inoperable.xix Despite California’s CAP law which was enacted in 2011, the firearm suicide rate of minors under the age of 18 has remained steady between 2005 and 2017.xx In 2012, a year after the state’s CAP law went into effect, the three-year-old child of a San Jose police officer found his father’s unlocked gun and fatally shot himself.xxi A close reading of California state law demonstrates that it does not affirmatively require a gun 3 giffordslawcenter.org owner to store his or her firearm in any particular manner. So long as a person does not “negligently” store or leave a loaded firearm on his or her premises, or takes “reasonable” action to “secure” the firearm, he or she may not be liable even if a minor gets ahold of the firearm. Furthermore, if the person stores the firearm in a locked container or with a locking device, he or she escapes liability in the event a child does gain access to the firearm. These subjective standards only provide an out for individuals when a child actually gains access to a firearm. The law does not dictate what responsible storage is, and require that gun owners abide by it. A safe storage law would require that gun owners keep their guns in locked containers or secured with trigger locks; this is an unambiguous, preventative measure with an objective standard. Safe storage laws prevent gun thefts that allow guns to be used in subsequent crimes . The proposed ordinance will also likely prevent gun thefts by thieves, as well as people who have consent to be in the home, such as caregivers of elderly residents and other visitors. A study by Harvard and Northeastern researchers shows that hundreds of thousands of guns are stolen each year; gun theft is an important way that guns enter the illegal market.xxii ATF estimates that about 10-15% of stolen guns are used in subsequent crimes.xxiii According to the researchers, gun owners who safely store their firearms experience gun thefts at a lower rate than those who do not. The study also concludes that promoting safer storage of guns may help to reduce gun thefts and reduce the number of guns entering the illegal market.xxiv For the foregoing reasons, I strongly urge you to enact the safe storage ordinance. Sincerely, Allison Anderman Senior Counsel 4 giffordslawcenter.org __________ ABOUT GIFFORDS LAW CENTER For over 25 years, the legal experts at Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence have been fighting for a safer America by researching, drafting, and defending the laws, policies, and programs proven to save lives from gun violence. NOTES i 554 U.S. 570 (2008). ii Id. at 628. iii Id. at 630 (emphasis added). iv Id. at 632. v San Francisco Police Code § 4512. In 2016, San Francisco strengthened its safe storage ordinance to apply to all firearms, not only handguns. vi Jackson v. City & Cty. of S.F., 746 F.3d 953, 962-968. vii Id. at 966. viii Id. ix Id. at 965. x Jackson v. City & Cty. of S.F., 135 S. Ct. 2799 (2015). xi Commonwealth v. McGowan , 464 Mass. 232 (2013). xii Tessler v. City of New York, 952 N.Y.S.2d 703, 716 (2012). xiii Elizabeth Van Brocklin, “19 Children Are Shot in America Every Day,” The Trace, June 19, 2017. xiv Matthew Miller & David Hemenway, “The Relationship Between Firearms and Suicide: A Review of the Literature,” 4 Aggression & Violent Behavior (1999): 59, 62–65 (summarizing the findings of multiple studies). xv See Analysis of School Shootings, December 31, 2015, http://everytownresearch.org/reports/analysis-of-school- shootings/. xvi Sarah Kaplan, “3-year-old picks up great-grandpa’s pistol from nightstand, fatally shoots sister,” Washington Post, February 8, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/02/08/3-year-old-picks-upgreat- grandpas-pistol-from-nightstand-fatally-shoots-sister/. xvii David C. Grossman et al., “Gun Storage Practices and Risk of Youth Suicide and Unintentional Firearm Injuries,” 293 JAMA (2005): 707, 711-13, http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.514.2207&rep=rep1&type=pdf. xviii Cal. Penal Code § 25100(c). xix Cal. Penal Code § 25105(b), (d). xx Center for Disease Control and Prevention Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), 2005 - 2017, California Suicide Firearm Deaths and Rates per 100,000, viewed on 2/11/19. In 2009, the rate of gun suicides by minors under age 18 was .29. In 2006, the rate was .25. California passed a “Child Access Prevention” law, and several amendments strengthening that law, between 2011 – 2013. The rate of gun suicides by minors was sill .29 in 5 giffordslawcenter.org 2013. The rate was .40 in 2017, showing that the rate has essentially remained steady (if not grown) for the 12 year period between 2005 and 2017 (the last year for which data is available). xxi Patrick May, “Gilroy neighbors mourn little boy’s accidental shooting death,” July 7, 2012, Mercury News, http://www.mercurynews.com/2012/07/07/gilroyneighbors-mourn-little-boys-accidental-shooting-death/. xxii David Hemenway, Deborah Azrael, and Matthew Miller, “Whose guns are stolen? The epidemiology of Gun theft victims,” Injury Epidemiology, January 13, 2017, https://injepijournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40621 -017- 0109-8. xxiii Dan Noyes, “How Criminals Get Guns,” Frontline, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/guns/procon/guns.html. xxiv David Hemenway, Deborah Azrael, and Matthew Miller, “Whose guns are stolen? The epidemiology of Gun theft victims,” Injury Epidemiology, January 13, 2017, https://injepijournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40621 -017- 0109-8.