Clarify Firearm Storage Law.
HB 643 clarifies North Carolina's firearm storage law (G.S. 14-315.1) to explicitly include both loaded and unloaded firearms stored near ammunition. It directly affects households with minors by requiring owners to store firearms - whether loaded or unloaded - in a way that prevents unsupervised minor access, addressing a court case where an unloaded gun next to ammo led to a teen's accidental death. The bill amends the statute to specify that storage "in a condition that the firearm can be discharged" covers scenarios where firearms are accessible with ammunition, aligning with the law's intent to prevent harm. The change takes effect December 1, 2025, for offenses committed on or after that date.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Apr 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Apr 1, 2025
Last action Apr 2, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Filed
→
Edition 1
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill document was updated from a filed draft version to the first official edition, adding sponsor information and changing the bill number format. No substantive policy changes to the firearm storage law itself were made in this revision.
TECHNICAL
Added complete list of sponsors (Representatives Rubin, Helfrich, A. Jones, and Clark) and reference to the General Assembly website for full sponsor information
Changed bill identifier from DRH30283-ML-114 to H643-v-1
Updated session date from April 1, 2025 to April 2, 2025
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
3
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Apr 2, 2025
Committee
Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
lower
Apr 1, 2025
Introduced
Filed
lower
2 primary · 13 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Abe Jones
DDemocratic
P
Phil Rubin
DDemocratic
Co
Allen Buansi
DDemocratic
Co
Allison Dahle
DDemocratic
Co
Amber Baker
DDemocratic
Co
Carolyn Logan
DDemocratic
Co
Eric Ager
DDemocratic
Co
Frances Jackson
DDemocratic
Co
James Roberson
DDemocratic
Co
Julia Greenfield
DDemocratic
Co
Julie von Haefen
DDemocratic
Co
Maria Cervania
DDemocratic
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