Supes Pass Gun-Safety Law

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors passed a law on Nov. 19 requiring gun owners to secure their weapons when not in use.

The ordinance, authored by Supervisor Dave Cortese, requires gun owners in the county’s unincorporated areas to store firearms in their homes in lock boxes, and with trigger locks or another mechanism that disables the weapon.

"Studies have found that guns used by youth in suicides, accidents or school shootings come from their homes,” Cortese said in a statement. “Safe storage of an unloaded firearm can significantly decrease the risks of those tragedies occurring."

In April 2018 Cortese hosted a Community Summit on Firearms and Safety, which was attended by 300 people. In a letter following the event, he reported that from 2014 and 2017, nearly two-thirds of all deaths by firearms in the county were suicides.

Kirk Vartan, a co-founder of Catalyze SV who describes himself as “a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, a strong supporter of respectful disagreement and someone who holds progressive views on how to strengthen our communities,” helped facilitate the gun safety meeting. He praised Cortese, but voiced concern to San Jose Spotlight's Katie Lauer that this ordinance might hinder a resident who needs to use a firearm for self-defense.

Read more on San Jose Spotlight.

Read an op-ed co-authored by an NRA member and a Sunnyvale City Council member.

The report on the Community Summit on Firearms and Safety is here.