Davis ordinance requires gun owners to lock firearms away in homes, vehicles
DAVIS - Davis is doubling down on gun safety after passing an ordinance this week mandating all firearm owners lock their guns away in their vehicles and at home.
"It's a good idea," said Sarah Liens, a local parent who welcomes the city's newest law. "It's a fairly safe town to raise kids. Keep the guns locked in your house and your car."
Mayor Lucas Frerichs said that the ordinance came about following recent shootings across the country and a sense that action needed to be taken locally.
"The safe storage for firearms ordinance came up over the course of the last month," he said.
Passed by the city council, the ordinance requires all firearms in Davis to be locked away in homes and vehicles.
"If the firearm is not locked, they must have it in their own proximity or control," Frerichs said.
Davis police say they've struggled with stolen firearms. In the last three years, officers have recovered seven guns in stolen from vehicles and more than 20 guns stolen from homes.
"[The ordinance] doesn't prevent someone from using their firearm, it just ensures it's stored while it's not in use," Frerichs said.
Our CBS13 crew drove to Guns Fishing and Other Stuff, a store just miles from Davis to take a closer look at gun locks and safes.
Moses Sanchez manages the store's firearm department and says safety laws like this already exist.
So we asked Frerichs how the city's new ordinance is different from existing state law.
"The state of California has safe storage of handguns in vehicles. There are no state requirements that firearms...such as rifles or shotguns be locked. Nor is there a requirement covering firearms purchased out of state either," the mayor said.
This ordinance is currently in effect and applies to anyone living or traveling through the city of Davis.
