South San Francisco, CA April 28, 2021 Press Release
City ordinance requires firearms stored in a locked container or disabled with a trigger lock
Gun owners in South San Francisco are now required to keep their firearms safely secured or face penalties under a new local ordinance. South San Francisco joins a number of cities and counties throughout the region that have adopted safe-storage rules in recent years.
“This ordinance fills an important gap in the existing law and it aims to reduce accidental gun shootings, gun-related homicides and suicides, and the theft of unsecured firearms,” said South San Francisco Police Chief Jeff Azzopardi.
Except when a firearm is carried on the person, no person shall keep a firearm in any residence in South San Francisco unless the firearm is stored in a locked container or is disabled with a trigger lock. “If officers come across an unsecured and lawfully possessed firearm, the officer will provide a trigger lock free of charge, or the public can also address this safety concern by coming to the police department and asking for a free trigger lock,” adds Chief Azzopardi.
Children are particularly at risk of injury and death from firearms when firearms are not safely secured in their own homes or in homes they visit. Children and young adults make up 38 percent of all firearm deaths and non-fatal injuries. More than 75 percent of guns used in suicide attempts and unintentional injuries of children and young adults were stored in the residents of the victim, a relative, or a friend. Eighty-nine percent of accidental shooting deaths among children occur in the home, and most of these deaths occur when children are playing with an unsecured loaded gun in their parent’s absence.
At least 14 other California jurisdictions have adopted similar safe storage ordinances, including Sunnyvale, Santa Cruz, Saratoga, San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco. The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors has requested that all 20 cities in San Mateo County adopt a similar ordinance to allow for a uniform gun storage policy throughout the County.
“This is long overdue and we are hopeful that neighboring cities will join us,” said Mayor Mark Addiego. “If we can prevent the accidental death of just one person, then this ordinance has served its purpose.”