Why is Firearm Safety important?

When you are given responsibility you are usually given a lot of instruction so that you are fully able to handle that responsibility. For example, before you are allowed to drive you have to take a class, drive with a responsible adult, for a certain amount of hours, take a written test, and an on the road exam. They do not hand out a driver’s license to everyone, you must earn it. The same goes for other responsibilities like owning a firearm.

Deciding to own a firearm is a big responsibility. A gun, much like a vehicle, can injure, or possibly kill a person if not handled properly. By taking a few simple steps you can be a safe firearm owner and help keep anyone who may come in contact with your firearm safe.

In order to own a firearm, in California, you must obtain a Firearm Safety Certificate, unless you are exempt from the certificate. There are only a few ways a person can be exempt:

• A person who has a Carry Concealed Weapon permit
• An active, active reserve, or honorably retired military person
• Those who have finished Peace Officers Standards and Training firearms training
• Anyone who has a Federal Firearms License Collectors with a Certificate of Eligibility
• Other exemptions can be found at the DOJ website: http://oag.ca.gov/firearms

In order to obtain a Firearm Safety Certificate you must take the DOJ written exam and pass with at least a 75% or better. It is advisable to read through a Firearm Safety study guide, before taking the exam, which will help you familiarize yourself with all the necessary information.

The purpose of the Firearm Safety Certificate is to make sure that you have a basic understanding of the firearm and knows how to handle it and store it safely. The major causes of firearm accidents are from inexperience and disregard for the safety rules. Firearms are left loaded and a person could along and assume the firearm is not loaded and end up hurting themselves or someone else.

Firearm safety should not be taken lightly. The rules are there to keep not only the gun owner safe, but also anyone who may come in contact with that firearm. Back to our car example for a moment, you should never leave the car running, alone, even for a minute, because some could come put the car in gear and end up getting hurt. You should never leave your firearm, loaded, alone for even a moment. If you need to run outside you need to follow all of the firearm safety rules. It is so important to be diligent at all times.

Being a responsible, safe firearm owner requires you to: respect the danger that comes with owning a firearm, being aware of all the possible dangers and the inclination to learn and use the rules of firearm safety every day.

Firearm safety is the responsibility of anyone who owns a firearm. It is important to respect the rules to keep anyone who may come in contact with the firearm safe, at all times.