Safe Storage Incentives for Firearms

Summary#

This bill creates education and incentive programs to promote safe storage of firearms. It directs the Attorney General to publish voluntary best practices, requires written safe-storage notices on packaged firearms from certain manufacturers/importers, extends an existing safe-storage rule from handguns to rifles and shotguns, funds grants to distribute storage devices, and creates a temporary tax credit for first retail sales of approved storage devices. The broad goal is to reduce unauthorized access, loss, and theft of firearms by encouraging safe storage.

Key changes:

• The Attorney General must develop and publicly post voluntary best practices for safe firearm storage and update them at least yearly.
• Manufacturers and importers who serialize at least 250 firearms a year must attach a clear written notice saying “SAFE STORAGE SAVES LIVES” and a website address to each packaged handgun, rifle, or shotgun starting January 1, 2027.
• The bill changes the wording of federal law to replace “handgun” with “handgun, rifle, or shotgun” in a provision about safe-storage devices, which would extend that provision to long guns as well.
• A grant program is created to help states and Indian Tribes buy and distribute safe firearm storage devices. The bill authorizes $10 million per year for fiscal years 2027–2035.
• A new business tax credit gives 10% of the amount received from the first retail sale of a qualifying safe firearm storage device (capped at $400 per device). The credit applies to sales before January 1, 2033.

What it means for you#

• Gun owners / buyers

  • Firearms purchased from covered manufacturers/importers starting in 2027 may include a printed notice on the packaging pointing to federal safe-storage guidance.
  • If federal law that currently applies to handguns is interpreted to require safe-storage devices at sale, buyers of rifles and shotguns may also receive (or have to be offered) such devices after the bill’s effective date. The bill itself does not reproduce the full current rule, so the exact change in sellers’ duties is not fully shown here.

• Licensed firearm manufacturers and importers

  • Those that serialize at least 250 firearms per year must include a specified written notice on or in the packaging for each handgun, rifle, and shotgun starting Jan 1, 2027.
  • They may face minor costs to change packaging and include the notice.

• Retailers

  • Retailers that sell qualifying safe storage devices can claim a business tax credit equal to 10% of the sale price for the first retail sale of each device (subject to a $400-per-device limit). The credit ends for sales after Dec 31, 2032.
  • If the existing safe-storage requirement is extended to long guns, retailers may have additional obligations to provide or sell storage devices with more types of firearms (the bill revises a statutory phrase but does not include the full existing rule text in the supplied material).

• State and tribal governments and local units

  • Eligible units can apply for grants to run programs that acquire and distribute safe firearm storage devices to the public.
  • Grant rules require most funds (at least 75%) to support local programs; up to 25% may go to nonprofits that partner with local governments.

• Members of the public

  • Federal best-practice guidance on safe firearm storage will be published online and updated annually.
  • Grant-funded programs may increase local access to locking devices and storage solutions.

Expenses#

Estimated public cost: The bill authorizes $10,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2035 for the Attorney General to run the grant program. No other official cost estimates are provided in the supplied material.

• Direct appropriations: $10 million per year, 2027–2035, to the Department of Justice for grants.
• Potential revenue loss: The business tax credit (10% of the first retail sale price, limited to $400 per device) would reduce federal tax receipts, but the bill does not estimate total lost revenue.
• Administrative costs: The Attorney General must develop, publish, and annually update best practices; run grant competitions; and produce annual reports. No cost estimates for these activities are supplied.
• Compliance costs: Manufacturers/importers and retailers may incur small costs to change packaging, add notices, and document first retail sales for tax-credit purposes.
• No fiscal note or detailed budget estimate is included in the supplied material.

Proponents' View#

• The bill appears intended to reduce unauthorized access to firearms by encouraging safe storage through education, distribution of devices, and financial incentives.
• Establishing best practices and publishing them publicly could improve awareness of how to prevent firearm loss, theft, and misuse in homes, vehicles, businesses, and off-site storage.
• Grants would make locking devices more available at the local level, especially where cost or access is a barrier.
• A tax credit for the first retail sale of certified storage devices may encourage retailers to stock and sell these devices, increasing public access.
• Replacing “handgun” with “handgun, rifle, or shotgun” would extend safe-storage measures to long guns, which could reduce accidents and thefts involving rifles and shotguns.

Opponents' View / Possible Concerns#

• One concern is fiscal: the bill authorizes $10 million per year and creates a tax credit that will reduce federal revenue; the supplied material does not include an overall cost or revenue estimate.
• The bill amends an existing statutory provision by changing “handgun” to include rifles and shotguns, but the supplied text does not include the full current provision. It is therefore unclear exactly how seller obligations or penalties (if any) will change in practice.
• Administrative burden: the Attorney General must create, publish, update best practices, manage grant applications, and report annually. The bill does not spell out staffing or implementation details.
• The tax credit applies only to the first retail sale of a device and ends after 2032. It is unclear whether this will be sufficient to sustain retailer participation or long-term market change.
• Implementation details are limited in the text provided: for example, the bill does not specify how “first retail sale” is verified for the tax credit, or how grants will measure program effectiveness beyond counts of devices distributed.
• The bill defines qualifying devices by lock type and excludes devices integrated into firearms or under CPSC recall; questions may arise about whether specific products meet the definition.