Enacts "Francesco's law" which establishes violations for the failure to safely store rifles, shotguns, and firearms in the presence of a minor or a prohibited person; requires the office of gun violence prevention to collect and analyze statistical and other information and data with respect to injuries or deaths of minors resulting from failure to safely store a firearm, rifle, or shotgun.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1962--B
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ANDERSON, SEAWRIGHT, CUNNINGHAM, WEPRIN, CRUZ,
DINOWITZ, EPSTEIN, SCHIAVONI, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, LAVINE, ROMERO,
O'PHARROW, GLICK, GRIFFIN, BURDICK, ROSENTHAL, LASHER, SIMON,
BURROUGHS, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, HEVESI, COLTON, SHIMSKY, ZACCARO, SOLAG-
ES, JACKSON, WIEDER, ZINERMAN, TAPIA, TAYLOR, SIMONE, CHANDLER-WATER-
MAN, KASSAY, LUNSFORD, DAIS, STECK, SAYEGH, ROZIC, STERN, PAULIN,
TORRES, ALVAREZ, RAMOS, GIBBS, P. CARROLL, BENEDETTO -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Codes -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee -- again reported from said committee with amendments, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to enacting "Francesco's
law"; to amend the executive law, in relation to annual reports by the
New York state office of gun violence prevention; and providing for
the repeal of certain provisions of the penal law relating to safely
storing rifles, shotguns, and firearms
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 "Francesco's law".
3 § 2. Section 265.45 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 371 of the
4 laws of 2022 and subdivision 2 as amended by section 3 of part F of
5 chapter 55 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
6 § 265.45 Failure to safely store rifles, shotguns, and firearms [in the
7 first degree].
8 1. No person who owns or is custodian of a rifle, shotgun or firearm
9 [who resides with an individual who: (i) is under eighteen years of age;
10 (ii) such person knows or has reason to know is prohibited from possess-
11 ing a rifle, shotgun or firearm pursuant to a temporary or final extreme
12 risk protection order issued under article sixty-three-A of the civil
13 practice law and rules or 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) (1), (4), (8) or (9); or
14 (iii) such person knows or has reason to know is prohibited from
15 possessing a rifle, shotgun or firearm based on a conviction for a felo-
16 ny or a serious offense,] shall store or otherwise leave such rifle,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05011-04-5
A. 1962--B 2
1 shotgun or firearm out of [his or her] such person's immediate
2 possession or control without having first securely locked such rifle,
3 shotgun or firearm in an appropriate safe storage depository or rendered
4 it incapable of being fired by use of a gun locking device appropriate
5 to that weapon.
6 2. No person shall store or otherwise leave a rifle, shotgun, or
7 firearm out of such person's immediate possession or control inside a
8 vehicle without first removing the ammunition from and securely locking
9 such rifle, shotgun, or firearm in an appropriate safe storage deposito-
10 ry out of sight from outside of the vehicle; provided, however, this
11 subdivision shall not apply to a police officer as such term is defined
12 in subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure
13 law, a qualified law enforcement officer authorized to carry concealed
14 firearms pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 926B, or a person in the military service
15 of the United States or the state of New York when such police officer,
16 qualified law enforcement officer, or person in such military service is
17 acting in the course of such person's official duty or employment and
18 otherwise complying with any applicable standards or requirements
19 pertaining to the storage of such rifle, shotgun, or firearm.
20 3. For purposes of this section "safe storage depository" shall mean a
21 safe or other secure container which, when locked, is incapable of being
22 opened without the key, keypad, combination or other unlocking mechanism
23 and is capable of preventing an unauthorized person from obtaining
24 access to and possession of the weapon contained therein and shall be
25 fire, impact, and tamper resistant. Nothing in this section shall be
26 deemed to affect, impair or supersede any special or local act relating
27 to the safe storage of rifles, shotguns or firearms which impose addi-
28 tional requirements on the owner or custodian of such weapons. For the
29 purposes of subdivision two of this section, a glove compartment or
30 glove box shall not be considered an appropriate safe storage deposito-
31 ry.
32 4. It shall not be a violation of this section [to allow a person less
33 than eighteen years of age access to: (i) a firearm, rifle or shotgun
34 for lawful use as authorized under paragraph seven or seven-e of subdi-
35 vision a of section 265.20 of this article, or (ii) a rifle or shotgun
36 for lawful use as authorized by article eleven of the environmental
37 conservation law when such person less than eighteen years of age is the
38 holder of a hunting license or permit and such rifle or shotgun is used
39 in accordance with such law.]:
40 (a) if a person obtained the firearm, rifle, or shotgun as a result of
41 unlawful entry by any person; or
42 (b) a person obtains the firearm, rifle, or shotgun in a lawful act of
43 self-defense or defense of another person.
44 Failure to safely store rifles, shotguns, and firearms [in the first
45 degree] is a [class A misdemeanor] violation.
46 § 3. Section 265.46 of the penal law is REPEALED.
47 § 4. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 265.51 to read
48 as follows:
49 § 265.51 Failure to safely store rifles, shotguns, and firearms when
50 accessible by a minor or prohibited person.
51 1. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have
52 the following meanings:
53 (a) "prohibited person" shall mean any person who is prohibited from
54 possessing a rifle, shotgun or firearm under state or federal law; and
55 (b) "minor" shall mean an individual under eighteen years of age.
A. 1962--B 3
1 2. A person is guilty of failure to safely store rifles, shotguns, and
2 firearms accessible to a minor or a prohibited person when:
3 (a) such person stores or otherwise leaves any rifle, shotgun or
4 firearm in violation of section 265.45 of this article in any location
5 where the owner or custodian of the rifle, shotgun, or firearm knows or
6 has reason to know that a minor or a prohibited person is likely to gain
7 access to such rifle, shotgun or firearm; and
8 (b) a minor or a prohibited person gains access to such rifle, shotgun
9 or firearm.
10 3. It shall not be a violation of this section:
11 (a) if the minor or prohibited person obtained the firearm, rifle, or
12 shotgun as a result of unlawful entry by any person; or
13 (b) if the minor or prohibited person obtains the firearm, rifle, or
14 shotgun in a lawful act of self-defense or defense of another person.
15 4. It shall not be a violation of this section to allow a person less
16 than eighteen years of age access to:
17 (a) a firearm, rifle or shotgun for lawful use as authorized under
18 paragraph seven or seven-e of subdivision a of section 265.20 of this
19 article; or
20 (b) a rifle or shotgun for lawful use as authorized by article eleven
21 of the environmental conservation law when such person less than eigh-
22 teen years of age is the holder of a hunting license or permit and such
23 rifle or shotgun is used in accordance with such law.
24 Failure to safely store rifles, shotguns, and firearms when accessible
25 by a minor or prohibited person is a class A misdemeanor.
26 § 5. Section 400.00 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi-
27 vision 19-a to read as follows:
28 19-a. Any person in violation of section 265.45 or section 265.51 of
29 this chapter shall receive safe storage materials developed by the
30 office of gun violence prevention pursuant to section eight hundred
31 thirty-seven-y of the executive law.
32 § 6. Subdivision 3 of section 837-y of the executive law, as added by
33 section 1 of part MM of chapter 55 of the laws of 2025, is amended to
34 read as follows:
35 3. Annual report. The office shall issue an annual report including,
36 but not limited to, information on the status of gun violence in the
37 state, recommendations for policy and programmatic initiatives to
38 prevent and reduce gun violence in the state, and a description of the
39 efforts of the office to carry out the duties and objectives of the
40 office under this section. Additionally, the office shall, in coordi-
41 nation with the division of criminal justice services, collect and
42 analyze statistical and other information and data with respect to inju-
43 ries or deaths of minors resulting from failure to safely store a
44 firearm, rifle, or shotgun. Such information may include, but not be
45 limited to, age, gender, racial and ethnic background of the minor or
46 minors involved, as well as the type of injury or cause of death, to the
47 extent such information is available. Such report shall be posted on the
48 division's website no later than one year after the effective date of
49 this section, and annually thereafter.
50 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however,
51 sections two, three and four of this act shall take effect on the nine-
52 tieth day after it shall have become a law; provided, further, that
53 the amendments to subdivision 3 of section 837-y of the executive law
54 made by section six of this act shall take effect on the same date and
55 in the same manner as section 1 of part MM of chapter 55 of the laws of
56 2025, takes effect.
