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Crime & Safety

Firearms Laws Focus on Sales, Safe Handling, Not In-Store Display

A local sport goods store discusses gun storage following the fatal officer-involved shooting at Watsonville's Big 5.

Tuesday’s shooting at Big 5 Sporting Goods showed following proper safety protocols for storing and displaying guns and ammunition minimizes risk but does not guarantee complete safety.

As , Watsonville police believe Big 5 Sporting Goods employees followed proper procedures prior to Tuesday’s shooting. .

Chris Thomas, Outdoor World company president, explained his store’s standard protocol for storing firearms and ammunition and according to Thomas, they are very similar to Big 5 Sporting Goods.

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"They’re stored, locked up on display. And then they are actually removed from the sales floor and stored in a vault overnight. The ammunition is behind the counter," said Thomas. "We have a similar (setup as Big 5). We have a cable lock running through all the triggers so someone could do something similar: come in with a device and cut and grab something."

There is no shortage of laws and regulations for firearm sales but according to Thomas, the laws for firearm storage in retails stores during business hours are limited.

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"All the laws that we’re aware off are concerning the consumer and after the purchase with safe storage at home. There are laws about safe storage the retail store but not much about during store hours," said Thomas.

All firearm sales in California include a 10-day waiting period and background check. Handgun purchasers must be 21 years of age while rifle and shotguns buyers need only be 18 years old. Additionally, handgun sales require the buyer to successfully complete the Handgun Safety Certificate test and provide proof of California residency.

The only requirement to purchase ammunition showing ID. Customers must be 18 to buy ammo for a rifle or a shotgun and 21 for handgun ammunition. There's also no tracking of sales or background check.

To ensure all proper procedure for firearms sales are followed, California requires employees who handle firearms go through specific training and a background check. Outdoor World also mandates and conducts additional training.

"The corporate training mostly (deals with) the paperwork but also the opportunity to relay to the employee the importance of handling firearms correctly," Thomas said. "The state training is required by law for selling handguns and is an actual handgun safe handgun training where those employees that are authorized to sell handguns by the retailers also have to be authorized by the state, go through a background check and be authorized to own a handgun as well as they are certified in the safe handling of a handgun."

These requirements can prevent individuals not allowed to possess firearms from obtaining them but locked cases and cables are the final physical barrier.

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