Child Access Prevention Laws

Many states have child access prevention (CAP) laws that are intended to prevent children from having access to firearms. The specific laws vary by state. However, the CAP laws in many states hold adults criminally liable if children have unsupervised access to firearms. Research has shown that:

• Having an unlocked gun in your home increases the likelihood for both intentional shootings and accidental firearm injuries and...
• Having CAP laws helps reduce the number of children who die from accidents involving a firearm.

Make sure you know the CAP laws that apply in your state or in any other state where you might be visiting and have a firearm with you.