Slotkin's New Bill Aims For Safe Storage Of Firearms

MICHIGAN — U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin plans to introduce legislation that would require gun owners to safety store their firearms in households with children.

Slotkin, a Holly area Democrat who represents the Oxford area, said the new federal bill would aim to hold gun owners accountable with up to five years in prison if a child uses their gun to hurt others or commit a crime.

The new bill, called the "Safe Guns, Safe Kids Act," comes in response to the deadly Oxford school shooting, where authorities said the parents of the accused 15-year-old gunman gave him the gun as a Christmas present.

"What really stood out in Oxford was the role that the parents played," Slotkin told CNN. "We came up with this bill, building on good work that others have done -- both in the state of Michigan and also federally -- and created a bill that would make it against the law for a person to keep an unsecured firearm if it's reasonable the child could access that firearm."

Slotkin said her bill is a serious effort to address safety by ensuring they are properly stored and out of the hands of those who could use them for violence or crime.

"This goes for the shooter in Oxford, as well as the thousands of instances where kids have stolen guns for crime or have accidentally harmed or killed others with a family member’s gun," Slotkin said.

However, Slotkin didn't specify whether firearms had to be kept in a gun safe or the use of a gun lock. Rather, she reiterated that the weapons would need to be "properly stored."

Michigan is not one of the eleven states that have some form of secure storage law.

While some gun groups have objected to laws requiring safe storage, Slotkin said it's possible to access firearms and other weapons, in addition to keeping them safety stored from children, according to the Detroit News.

"I understand that there are people who are going to criticize any and all legislation related to gun safety, Slotkin said in the Detroit News report. "I don't begrudge anybody who legally buys a weapon for their own security and wants quick access to it. But there are things that change when you have young children in your home."

Furthermore, Slotkin said "I come from a gun-owning family, and I carried two firearms on my three tours in Iraq with the CIA. There are millions of responsible gun owners in Michigan, including my own dad. This bill will require gun owners to store or lock their firearms when children are present, and will hold them accountable when they fail to do so."