SB 60 - This act creates the offense of failing to stop illegal weapon possession. A person commits the offense if he or she is the parent or guardian of a child under the age of 18, he or she knows the child possesses a weapon in violation of the law, and he or she fails to stop the possession or report it to law enforcement. The offense is a Class A misdemeanor unless death or injury results from the weapon possession in which case it is a Class D felony until December 31, 2016, and a Class E felony beginning January 1, 2017.
This act also creates the offense of negligent storage of a weapon. A parent or guardian of a child under the age of 18 commits the offense by recklessly storing or leaving a weapon in a manner that is likely to result in the child accessing the weapon if the child obtains access to the weapon and unlawfully carries it to school, kills or injures another person with it, or commits a crime with it.
A weapon that is in a secure location or locked is not considered to be recklessly stored or left in a manner likely to result in the child accessing the weapon.
The offense is a Class A misdemeanor unless the child kills or injures another person in which case it is a Class D felony until December 31, 2016, and a Class E felony beginning January 1, 2017.
The parent or guardian of a child injured or killed by a weapon may only be prosecuted for negligent storage of a weapon if he or she was grossly negligent.
This act requires a parent or guardian to notify a school district, or the governing body of a private or charter school, that he or she owns a weapon within 30 days of enrolling the child in school or becoming the owner of a weapon. The written notification only needs to include the names of the parent and any child attending the school and the fact that the parent owns a weapon.
A person only needs to send one written notification if he or she has multiple children attending the school or becomes the owner of additional weapons. Any time a new child is enrolled in a school the parent or guardian must send an updated notification with the new child's name.
Failure to notify the school under this act is an infraction, punishable by a fine of up to $100. If a person is found guilty of negligent storage of a weapon and has failed to notify the school of weapon ownership, the person must be fined $1,000 in addition to any other penalties authorized by law.
This act is substantially similar to SB 549 (2014) and SB 469 (2013) and is similar to SB 23 (2015), SB 548 (2014), and SB 124 (2013).
MEGHAN LUECKE