COLUMBUS, Ohio — A proposal introduced Thursday before the House Justice Committee would require all gun owners to lock their guns so children cannot get access.
If a child shoots and injures or kills someone, the gun owner could be charged with a first-degree felony.
In May, Columbus' 43rd homicide of the year was a 14-year old boy named Jay'Kwon Sharp, who was shot to death by a 13-year-old carrying a loaded gun.
The crime is just one example of why supporters are backing the proposal.
In Ohio, gun dealers must provide free locks for every gun sold, but there's no legal requirement that gun owners use them.
That could change under House Bill 240, which would create the state's first safe-storage law.
Representative Jessica Miranda, the bills co-sponsor, is a concealed carry permit holder.
"It would make it illegal for a gun owner to keep their firearm in a location where it could be easily and unlawfully accessed by a minor," she said.
What the bill doesn't define is what safe storage is. It's something that wasn't missed by those on the Justice Committee.
"I understand tamper-resistant mechanical locks because that's how I store my guns but it says safe storage are we talking about a gun in a safe?" said State Representative John M. Rogers (D) House District 60.
"Other states have used terms like lockbox or container or trigger lock, that is something we'd like to look at to make sure that's all clear," said State Representative Brigid Kelly (D) House District 31.
The Buckeye Firearms Association is against the idea saying, "Now we have to lock up an unloaded gun, which becomes basically a useless paperweight when it comes to protecting oneself."
Under this safe storage proposal, if a child shoots someone, causing injury or death, the parent could be charged with a misdemeanor or a first-degree felony.
On January 16, 2013, President Barack Obama signed a series of executive orders to address gun violence and school safety in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut, school massacre in December 2012.
One of these orders calls for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to review the effectiveness of gun locks and gun safes, including existing voluntary industry standards, and take any steps that may be warranted to improve the standards.
As stated by the former president: “We also need to make sure that gun locks and gun safes work as intended. Several gun locks have been subject to recall due to their failure to function properly; that is not acceptable.”
Massachusetts is the only state that requires that all firearms be stored with a locking device in place when the firearms are not in use. The state bars storing or keeping any firearm unless it is secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety devices.
This requirement does not apply to any firearm “carried by or under the control of the owner or other lawfully authorized users.”
The District of Columbia has established a strong, yet non-binding policy that each firearm registrant should keep any firearm in his or her possession unloaded and either disassembled or secured by a trigger lock, gun safe, locked box, or other secure devices.