Sponsor
The bill aims to reduce youth firearm injuries by tightening parental-consent standards, mandating safer storage and education, and increasing enforcement and transparency, but it also creates new federal penalties, liability risks, compliance burdens, and limits grant access for families in some States.
Children and youth will face reduced risk of accidental shootings because firearms must be stored with approved safety devices when not carried or within immediate reach, tightening safe-storage requirements.
Parents in eligible school districts will receive evidence-based materials and local public information sessions on gun safety and secure storage, increasing community awareness and promoting safer household practices.
The bill creates a clearer legal standard for parental consent to juvenile handgun use, which can help prosecutors and courts more consistently enforce limits when consent is claimed.
Gun owners, household members, landlords or roommates who fail to secure a firearm could face substantial civil penalties (up to $5,000), joint-and-several liability for large damages, and a 5-year federal disqualification from receiving firearms, creating significant financial and access consequences.
Parents who reasonably but unknowingly misjudge whether another adult is legally eligible to supervise a youth's handgun use could face criminal liability for providing written consent.
The bill expands federal prohibition, penalties, and enforcement reach into household storage practices, increasing compliance obligations and federal regulatory involvement in routine private conduct.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Representative · D-PA
Creates federal rules and penalties requiring secure firearm storage, tightens parental consent for juvenile handgun use, funds parent-education grants for LEAs in states with secure-storage laws.
Official title: To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to require adequate supervision before a juvenile can possess a firearm, to require the safe storage of firearms, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 27, 2025 by Madeleine Dean · Last progress June 27, 2025
Makes it a federal crime for parents to consent to a juvenile’s handgun possession unless the parent actually knows the child will be supervised by a legally permitted adult; creates a federal prohibition on leaving firearms unsecured (unless carried) and defines penalties including civil fines, criminal liability, and a private right of action for injuries; establishes grant funding for school districts in States with secure-storage laws to provide parent education on gun safety; and requires reporting by the Attorney General on implementation with disaggregated data. The bill directs the Attorney General to write regulations to block firearm transfers to people recently assessed civil penalties for insecure storage, requires FFLs to provide notice about penalties, and tasks the Department of Education with competitively awarding grants to eligible local educational agencies for parent-focused gun-safety education.