School's Out. Is Your Storage Ready?

Curiosity is natural, and children are very good at finding things adults think are hidden. A firearm on a closet shelf or in a nightstand drawer is not secured — it is simply out of sight. Responsible storage means a firearm is unloaded, locked and inaccessible to anyone who should not have it.

The right storage depends on your household. Full-size safes protect a collection from children, theft and fire. Quick-access lock boxes keep a home-defense firearm secured but available to authorized adults. Cable locks and trigger locks are inexpensive options for firearms that are rarely used. Store ammunition separately and locked when practical.

Talk with your children, in age-appropriate terms, about what to do if they ever see a firearm: don't touch it, leave the area and tell an adult. Repeat the lesson regularly. Many parents also ask, politely and without judgment, how firearms are stored in homes where their kids visit for sleepovers and play dates.

Some states have specific storage or child-access requirements, and they vary considerably. Check the current rules where you live — safe storage is both a moral responsibility and, in many places, a legal one.

Finally, review keys and combinations. Change a code if too many people know it, keep keys on your person rather than in an obvious drawer, and make sure older teens understand the household rules as clearly as younger children do.