Firearm Owners Beware - Michigan’s New Secured Storage Law

In response to the continuing problem of school and other mass shootings, there has been a growing movement across the U.S. to begin holding the parents or other owners of firearms that fall into the wrong hands both criminally and civilly liable.  Michigan, like many other states, recently passed such a law and otherwise law-abiding gun owners could be setting themselves up for exposure to a felony conviction and lengthy prison sentence if they are not familiar with its requirements.

The Genesis of Secured Storage Laws

In a first of its kind case, the Oakland County Prosecutor filed criminal charges against the parents of Ethan Crumbley who perpetrated a shooting at Oxford High School killing four students at the Michigan high school on November 30, 2021.  Ethan Crumbley’s parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, were charged and ultimately convicted of involuntary manslaughter.  Each parent was sentenced to serve a minimum of ten years in state prison.  Several civil suits against the school and the parents by the victims followed the criminal trial.

This successful criminal conviction and the general public outcry against this epidemic of mass gun violence caused legislatures across the country to seek legislative solutions to address the problem.  One of the popular legislative solutions devised is know as a Child Access Prevention or “CAP” law.  These laws are generally intended to protect children and others against injuries or death which result from someone getting unauthorized or unintended access to a firearm.  The laws also seek to use the fear of criminal prosecution and incarceration to induce lawful gun owners into making sure their firearms are locked up and inaccessible to children.

Provisions of Michigan’s CAP Law

On February 13, 2024, Michigan’s new CAP law known as Michigan’s Secured Storage Law (“SSL”) went into effect.  The new law provides for very serious criminal penalties for gun owners who fail to store their firearms in the manner proscribed by the SSL.

The new law applies to gun owners who:

1. Leave a firearm unattended on a premises under the individual’s control; and

2. Who knows or reasonably should know that or minor is, or is likely to be, present on the premises.

Any such gun owner is required to do one or more of the following:

1. Store the firearm in a locked box or container; or

2. Keep the firearm unloaded and lock the firearm with a locking device that is properly engaged to render the firearm inoperable by any individual other than the owner or an authorized user.

The law also has provisions that applies to gun owners who:

1. Enter onto the premises of another individual; and

2. Leaves a firearm unattended on those premises and knows or reasonably should know, that a minor is, or is likely to be, present on the premises.

In these situations, a gun owner is required under the SSL to do one of the following:

1. Store the firearm in a locked box or container;

2. Keep the firearm unloaded and lock the firearm with a locking device that is properly engaged to render the firearm inoperable by any individual other than the owner or an authorized user; or

3. Before entering onto the premises do both of the following: a. In the individual's motor vehicle, store the firearm in a locked box or container in that vehicle, or keep the firearm unloaded and lock the firearm with a locking device that is properly engaged to render the firearm inoperable by any individual other than the owner or an authorized user; and b. Lock the individual's motor vehicle.

There are misdemeanor and felony violations of the law.

Misdemeanor Violations

Under the SSL, it is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days and a fine of up to $500, or both, if the firearm owner fails to properly store the firearm as required by the SSL AND as a result one of the following occur:

1. A minor obtains the firearm;

2. The minor possesses or exhibits the firearm in public; or

3. The minor possesses the firearm in the presence of another person in a careless, reckless or threatening manner.

Felony Violations

There are three levels of felony violations of the SSL—a 5, 10 and 15 year max.

5 Year Max. It is a felony punishable of up to 5 years in prison and a $5000 fine, or both, to fail to properly store a firearm if, as a result, a minor obtains the firearm, discharges it and inflicts injury upon the minor or any other individual.

10 Year Max. In the same situation, if the firearm is discharged and inflicts serious impairment of a body function upon the minor or any other individual, it is a felony punishable by up 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $7500, or both.

15 Year Max. Finally, if one fails to properly store their firearm and a minor gets ahold of it, discharges it and someone is killed the person can be charged with a felony punishable by 15 years in prison or a $10,000 fine or both.

What Does this Mean for Gun Owners

It is not uncommon for law-abiding gun owners, myself included, to have at some point or another kept a firearm at home that was not locked.  The entire purposes of having a firearm in the home is self-defense and home protection.  Many gun owners feel that having one’s home defense firearm in a lock box or otherwise under lock and key defeats the purpose of having it.  After all, if someone breaks into your home and surprises you in the middle of the night, one can imagine several scenarios wherein there would not be time to mess around and unlock a box or trigger lock.  However, with the new law in place such behavior, if you have a minor child at home or your home is often visited by minors, exposes the gun owner to felony criminal liability.

Based on some recent experiences I had with law enforcement, it appears that officers have been specifically trained to look for potent violations of this law and to entrap unwitting citizens into making admissions to potential violations of the act.  My vehicle was recently broken into.  I had gone to the range that day so I had a range bag in my truck that had two firearms in it.  I inadvertently left the range bag in my truck overnight.  Unfortunately, some lovely individual broke into my truck and stole my range bag and two very expensive firearms.

The next day I called the Jackson County Sheriff to report the theft of my guns.  The deputy who called me was not someone I was familiar with.  He asked me what happened and I told him someone had broken into my truck and stolen two firearms.  After asking me where my truck was parked when they were stolen he began to ask me a series of questions about how my firearms were stored in the truck.  My alarm bells immediately went off both because of the deputy’s tone but also because the manner in which my guns were stored in my truck was largely irrelevant and wouldn’t be of much use to him in any investigation.  He also asked questions like, “was the firearm properly stored in a locked box?”  When he asked this question I knew he was not at all interested in the stolen firearm report and was attempting to elicit information from me he could use to make a case against me for a SSL violation.  To put it mildly I was not happy and that conversation ended very quickly.

At the time this happened, I was only generally aware of the new Michigan CAP law.  I had not carefully reviewed it.  Apparently, this deputy had not either because the law does not apply to guns left unattended in vehicles.

I’ve seen this kind of behavior on behalf of the police on several occasions.  It is not at all uncommon for someone who is a victim of a crime to call the police and suddenly find themselves to be the subject of a criminal investigation.

Moral of the Story

The moral of this story is two-fold: 1. As a gun owner, you absolutely must keep up with the law and know all gun laws that might apply to you; and 2.  Never trust the police and always be wary of making statements to police.

I would strongly advise that any gun owner who is the victim of a gun theft, especially if the theft is from your home or someone else’s home that you consult with an attorney before reporting the theft to the police.  If you don’t want to consult with an attorney I would advise that when making the report you only share the following information: 1. The date the theft occurred; 2. The make, model and serial number of the firearm stolen; 3.  The name and contact information of the registered owner; and 4. A general description of the location from where it was stolen, for example, a street address.  Under no circumstances should you answer any detailed questions about how the firearm was stored.