# Ethan's Law (S. 726) - Plain Language Summary

## What This Bill Does

Ethan's Law would require gun owners to safely store their firearms in their homes, or face federal penalties. The bill makes it illegal for gun owners to keep firearms accessible to minors (anyone under 18) or to people who are legally prohibited from owning guns—unless the gun is being carried on their person or stored with a secure locking device or in a secure location. The bill also establishes a federal grant program to help states and Native American tribes implement similar safe storage laws.

## Who Is Affected

**Gun owners** would be the primary group affected, as they would need to change how they store firearms at home. **Families with children** would benefit from reduced access to unsecured guns. The bill cites research showing that millions of minors live in homes with unsecured firearms, and that most school shooters and youth suicide victims obtained guns from their own homes or relatives' homes. **Law enforcement** would gain new tools to prosecute unsafe storage, and **states and tribes** could receive federal funding to enforce these requirements.

## Key Provisions

- **Penalties**: Gun owners who violate the storage requirement face a $500 fine per violation. If a minor or ineligible person accesses the improperly stored gun and causes injury or death, the owner faces up to 5 years in prison and additional fines.
- **Exceptions**: The law doesn't apply if a gun is carried on the owner's person, stored with a locking device, or kept in a location a reasonable person would consider secure.
- **Federal Grants**: States and tribes that pass matching safe storage laws can receive federal funding to help implement and enforce them.

Ethan's Law

Blumenthal, Richard

Ethan's Law This bill establishes a framework to regulate the storage of firearms on residential premises at the federal, state, and tribal levels. At the federal level, the bill establishes statutory requirements for firearms on residential premises to be safely stored if a minor is likely to gain access without permission or if a resident is ineligible to possess a firearm. An individual who violates the requirements is subject to criminal penalties. A firearm stored in violation of the requirements is subject to seizure and forfeiture. At the state and tribal levels, the bill requires the Department of Justice to award grants to implement functionally identical requirements for the safe storage of firearms.