From the founder

This subject is timely because there have been a number of recent cases where a child gained unauthorized access to an unsecured firearm.

The best known such case is the one that occurred Feb. 15 at Cielo Vista Mall when a 16-year-old shot and killed a 17-year-old and wounded two other people.

In Texas, people who own firearms have a lawful responsibility to keep them secured. If they don’t, unauthorized access may result in criminal charges. I know a little about this as an occasional License to Carry instructor.

What the Department of Public Safety requires us to teach is that securing a firearm is a 24/7 responsibility, especially when children are around.

If a child gains unsupervised access to a firearm and injures someone, the owner is likely facing jail time not to mention civil liability.

Not all states hold gun owners responsible. You may recall a December 2021 shooting in Michigan in which a 15-year-old killed four students and wounded six other people at his high school. His parents had provided him with a semi-automatic rifle, an AR, as a gift.

Michigan had no law holding the parents responsible. They were ultimately charged with involuntary manslaughter because there was no law holding them directly criminally liable.

So what does it take to meet the legal definition of a secured firearm in Texas? There are many ways, but I often cover this section in class by polling students on how their firearms are stored.

Invariably the first person will say, “I hide my handgun.” Then I ask whether they have kids and, if so, whether they have ever found their Christmas presents.

The next guy might say, “I’m okay. I hide the gun in one place and the ammunition in another.”

Right. So I ask whether they have a housekeeper, workers in the home, cousins, nephews, grandchildren, etc. They usually get my point.

The Texas definition of a safely stored handgun is that you and only you, or a significant other, can access and operate the firearm.

There are many ways to meet the Texas legal definition of a safely secured firearm: action locks, barrel locks, trigger locks, a locked gun case, a locked drawer, a locked safe.

Given enough time and tools, any of these devices can be defeated. But all would suffice to show the gun owner had taken the precautions expected of a reasonable person.

Texas is understanding when it comes to children gaining supervised access to a firearm – that would include safety training, range instruction and hunter safety programs. It is permitting unsupervised access that gets people into trouble.

In the case of the 16-year-old Cielo Vista Mall shooter, the parents may be off the hook. Police have said the firearm was stolen and I would think that if the parents could establish that they had no knowledge their son possessed the gun, it is not likely they would be charged.

I remind that in Texas anyone under the age of 17 is considered a child. Texas may be the only state