Leaving a Handgun in a motor vehcile unlocked

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I am in the process of doing research on any laws in the State of Nevada on leaving a handgun in a unlock motor vehicle, un-securied. Does anyone have any information or resources on the web on laws reguarding this?

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jimhartwick wrote:

I am in the process of doing research on any laws in the State of Nevada on leaving a handgun in a unlock motor vehicle, un-securied. Does anyone have any information or resources on the web on laws reguarding this?

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The only law is the law of stupid, which dictates that leaving a loaded gun an unsecured vehicle is a good idea. I suggest breaking that law at all costs.

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I would be surprised if you find anything in the statues/code of NV on that specific subject. There's hardly anything about carrying a weapon in a vehicle at all. Interested to hear if you find anything....always eager to learn/educate myself on the subject. Keep us informed. Thanks, Chuck

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The law is silent on leaving handguns in motor vehicles. Without a concealed carry permit, I think the whole properties of schools and universitiesare off limits thus a handgun in a vehicle would be also. Witha concealed carry permit, only the buildings of a school are off limits.

So yes, feel free to leave your gun sitting on the seat of your unlocked car with the window rolled down, but its not wise. Its a ripe target for theives.

Also, be sure that its actually in your car and not sitting on the roof. If a child under the age of 18 has unsupervised access to your firearm and you do not fall under one of these protections (Like having it taken as a result of unlawful entry, or maybe you are a cop and you can legally let children run off with your duty gun) you could get in trouble. Actually, depending on whether they restrict premises to mean buildings, it might be wise to lock it up in your car for further protection against aiding a child to possess a firearm. Or you can just hope that the theif is an adult.

Of course, based upon the below law I'm not sure how much knowledge or intent you have to have that your firearm is going to be abused before its illegal. I suppose if you had reason to believe it wouldn't be stolen by a child you mightbe okay.

NRS 202.300

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1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a child under the age of 18 years shall not handle or have in his possession or under his control, except while accompanied by or under the immediate charge of his parent or guardian or an adult person authorized by his parent or guardian to have control or custody of the child, any firearm of any kind for hunting or target practice or for other purposes. A child who violates this subsection commits a delinquent act and the court may order the detention of the child in the same manner as if the child had committed an act that would have been a felony if committed by an adult.

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2. A person who aids or knowingly permits a child to violate subsection 1:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b), for the first offense, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(b) For a first offense, if the person knows or has reason to know that there is a substantial risk that the child will use the firearm to commit a violent act, is guilty of a category C felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.

(c) For a second or any subsequent offense, is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years, and may be further punished by

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3. A person does not aid or knowingly permit a child to violate subsection 1 if:

(a) The firearm was stored in a securely locked container or at a location which a reasonable person would have believed to be secure;

(b) The child obtained the firearm as a result of an unlawful entry by any person in or upon the premises where the firearm was stored;

(c) The injury or death resulted from an accident which was incident to target shooting, sport shooting or hunting; or

(d) The child gained possession of the firearm from a member of the military or a law enforcement officer, while the member or officer was performing his official duties.

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Go ahead, leave it exposed on the seat, with the doors unlocked. While you're at it, leave your wallet and the car keys right alongside the gun. Oh, could you also leave a note with your PIN number on it to speed access to your bank account.

All these activities fall under the "Too stupid to own anything for very long" rule.

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jimhartwick wrote:

Does anyone have any information or resources on the web on laws reguarding this?

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http://www.leg.state.nv.us/law1.cfm

All of Nevada's NRS and NAC are online for anyone to search through.

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Unfortunately, I don't. All I know is that doing something like that is stupid. People who do things like that should not be allowed to own firearms.

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Im not a lawyer and NRS doesnt contain anything specific to your cause, but I will comment a bit.

I dont think there is anything illegal about leaving your loaded firearm in your unlocked vehicle. I have been told by many (no lawyers) that Nevada prosecutes based on "Who shot it, not who bought it" (That is to say that the responsibility for the crime lies solely in the hands of the person who uses the gun, regardless of where they got it). Now, the only reason I can see something like this going south is if a court were able to show that you exhibited "willful ignorance" in regards to your weapon's security, which resulted in the comission of a crime. If they can show willful ignorance or negligence, they can charge a crime, as far as I know.

Now, this is all assuming you leave your gun in your car, unlocked and in plain view. This shouldnt ever get this far, because I really cant think of any situation where I would leave my gun in my truck while it was unlocked. Worst case scenario for me is that I cant OC and I lock it in my glovebox before I get to where Im going, that way nobody sees you glovebox your piece and decides to wait for you to leave before he gets a new gun.

PS - This isnt legal advice. Im not a lawyer. Take everything with a grain of salt!

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So it's not illegal. Do you want it to be? Anti-gunners overreact to every tragic gun incident citing it as yet another reason gun control is so important.

Please don't leave your gun in an unlocked car. But on the other hand, if you forget one day, do you want to be incarcerated for your innocent mistake because it's such common practice that legislators have been persuaded to criminalize it?

I really believe my employer should allow possession of a firearm by employees at the office (maybe they don't want OC, I guess I can live with that, but why not CC with a permit?!). And the #1 reason I cite is that when I'm AWAY from my office, I'm armed for personal protection, so it will be with me, even if temporarily out of my reach in the car while I'm defenseless at my desk. So why is it "safer" to anyone, including the other employees they're trying to "protect" (from, statistically, the safest group of people in the country - CCW permit holders), why is it safer that my gun is left unsecured in my locked vehicle?

I can't make that argument if I carelessly leave my vehicle unlocked. If I'm that careless, maybe their argument is valid, not because I'm violent, but because a firearm in the hands of a careless guy, who I would argue is more dangerous than one in the hands of a criminal. Anyone who would ignore the consequences and commit the crime of murder, or at least assualt with a deadly weapon, likely cares very little about getting fired, right? Maybe that's not the point. They know the criminal will ignore their rule. Maybe they're trying to prevent careless employees from accidentally discharging their weapon at the office.

Please think. If that's not a good enough reason, consider your gun probably costs several $100 - Would you leave that much cash on your dashboard? Or your new cell phone? Then why with your expensive gun?

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While I agree that leaving a firearm in an unlocked vehicle should not be considered prudent behavior these days, it leaves me wondering about the founding fathers' thoughts regarding leaving such items on an unsecured horse? Do you suppose they would have still written "shall not be infringed"?

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I suppose you're right. But there wasn't the Brady Campaign in those days either. There's no law now against it now, and reasonable precautions can be taken (lock your car) so as not to give them yet one more thing to go after.

Tim

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ne1 wrote:

While I agree that leaving a firearm in an unlocked vehicle should not be considered prudent behavior these days, it leaves me wondering about the founding fathers' thoughts regarding leaving such items on an unsecured horse? Do you suppose they would have still written "shall not be infringed"?

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Why should you be penalized because some low-life scumbag steals your property? Even if you are an absolute idiot for putting it in a place to be stolen.

I don't think the founding fathers would have been tolerant of punnishing anyone forthe actions ofother people. Even then, people weren't usuallydumb enough to leave valuables lying around to be stolen, but I bet they would never endorse some of the modern laws that exist in some places requiring guns to be locked into safes etc.It's a terrible idea to make stupidity in firearm storageillegal due to the unintended consequences. If you makeunsecure storage illegal, where will it end?Who decides what is secure? The government is the last thing I want telling me what I can or cannot do, or what is secure enough. D.C.law prohibits any firearm exceptdissassembled long guns lockedaway in safes.

Probably most people inthe 1770scouldn't afford 20 guns like many people today can so they were careful not to lose them. I think its punnishment enough for your stupidity to have your valuables stolen, especially back then when your valuables were more valuable. (Even today, I don't think MOST people are that dumb)


The only real concern is improper use by children. Otherwise I don't see why stolen guns should be treated any different than any other stolen object. You could probably be charged with negligence if you left a bottle of dangerous cleaning chemicals in the baby crib and injury resulted. The same would be true of a firearm. I don't think there needs to be special laws concerning firearms. If a child breaks into your car though and is of an age where he wouldn't understand the danger of a firearm, one must ask, where were HIS parents?


Modern anti-gun philosophy is that the best way to prevent accidents with children is tokeep children ignorant of guns. Back then I'm sure they actually taught their children how to handle guns safely. Heck, they probably did that 50 years ago too. I think the main problem with accidentsinvolving children and guns is improper training, not improper storage. (Not thatguns shouldn'tbesafely stored around children, they should be, especially around young immature ones)Ifchildren aren't told that lethal consequences can result from their actions what do people expect?


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As a side note, in my opinion, the safest place to keep your firearm is on your person in a holster. "gun-free" zones that require people to leave their guns in their cars are a culprit in allowingfirearms to be stolen. The only time I have ever left my gun in my car was to access "gun-free zones (such as post offices)" (And yes, it was locked as securely into my car as I can make it.) As usual, an example of gun control favoring the criminal and encouraging unwise practices.

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ne1 wrote:

While I agree that leaving a firearm in an unlocked vehicle should not be considered prudent behavior these days, it leaves me wondering about the founding fathers' thoughts regarding leaving such items on an unsecured horse? Do you suppose they would have still written "shall not be infringed"?

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Oh, did Roy Rogers have a Trigger lock?

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jimhartwick wrote:

I am in the process of doing research on any laws in the State of Nevada on leaving a handgun in a unlock motor vehicle, un-securied. Does anyone have any information or resources on the web on laws reguarding this?

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I'm curious, and the question begs to be asked:



Why are you doing this research? Why do you want to know? I somehow doubt you are trying to find out if this is something you can legally do.



I believe either you did it and someone is trying to charge/sue you for some sort of negligence due to a possible action by an individual other than yourself regarding the use of your improperly secured firearm, or you are looking to charge/sue someone for a similar incident.



Mind filling us in? I noticed this was your first post here, so I just want to know your angle.



Thanks