San Ramon Set to Talk Safe Gun Storage

The San Ramon City Council will discuss approving an ordinance to require Safe Storage of Firearms inside a residence.

According to the November 28 agenda, the City has received numerous requests, by email and during Public Comment at recent City Council meetings, for the City to adopt an ordinance to enhance safe storage of firearms within residences in San Ramon. In response, the Council has asked staff to review similar ordinances that have been adopted in other jurisdictions and to present a draft San Ramon ordinance to the Policy Committee for its consideration.

Although there is already a law on the books in the state of California, like many cities, San Ramon is looking to ,eliminates the question of whether a gun owner should have “reasonably known” that a child or prohibited person was likely to access the firearm and requires safe storage of the firearm irrespective of whether a child is likely to be present.

According to the proposed San Ramon ordinance, a violation of this new section will be an infraction, punishable by a $100 fine (per firearm) for the first violation and greater fines for repeat violations within a calendar year. If a person violates the ordinance more than three times in any 12 -month period, or if the violation includes elements of reckless endangerment, the City will have the option of charging the violation as a misdemeanor

If approved, San Ramon would join other cities in California and in Contra Costa County, which include, Contra Costa County and the cities of Antioch, Dublin, Pleasanton, and Walnut Creek.

In September, at the request of Supervisor Candace Andersen, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors approved a gun storage ordinance for unincorporated Contra Costa County.

“I am just going to put out there that I am a firm believer in the Second Amendment of our Constitution and nothing we are doing today takes away someone’s right to bare arms,” said Andersen. “Regulating the storage of weapons is something the courts and legislators have long recognized as something that is appropriate.”

Andersen said the policy does not prevent someone from carrying their weapons in their home at all times or have immediate access—people can still quickly access a weapon should they need too.

Tidbits From Staff Report:

A 2017 Pew Research Center survey found that 42% of adults live in a gun-owning household. Roughly a third of homes in the United States with children have guns, and an estimated 4.6 million children live with unlocked, loaded guns in the home.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that in 2020 there were 45,222 firearm-related deaths in the United States, and 54% (22,292) of the firearm-related deaths were suicides
According to a 2008 report published in the New England Journal of Medicine, living in a home where there are guns increases the risk of death by homicide by between 40% and 170% and the risk of suicide by 90% to 460%.
Several California jurisdictions have adopted “safe firearm storage” ordinances to bolster firearm safety in the home. Safe storage ordinances are in effect in multiple Bay Area municipalities, including Contra Costa County, Antioch, Alameda, Belvedere, Berkeley, Dublin, Moraga, Oakland, Orinda, and San Francisco.

Council Request for Additional Information

At its November 14th meeting, the City Council noted that the facts and statistics cited in the previous staff report reflected nationwide trends that were not necessarily relevant to San Ramon. The Council requested additional information from the Police Chief regarding gun-related incidents within San Ramon itself. Fortunately, the City of San Ramon has a low rate of incidents involving the discharge of a firearm; however, the community is not immune. The Chief of Police conducted a review of all firearm-discharge and related incidents since January 2020, including those associated with criminal activity, suicide, and the negligent discharge of a firearm in preparation for the proposal of this ordinance. Although no definitive answer is possible, based on the Chief’s review, it does not appear that any of these prior incidents would have been prevented had the proposed ordinance been in place at the time of occurrence.

The Chief’s review confirms that the benefit of this Ordinance is primarily that it provides clarity for gun owners as to what the law requires for firearm storage.