I was wondering if anybody knows the law on Gun Storage in RI. I am investigating gun safes. My question is. If a thief breaks into my safe and steals a gun and I report the gun stolen and am I responsible if the gun is used in any criminal activities
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Securing guns in house
- Thread starter Oceanlure
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Don't know any specifics about RI law (like if there is a criminal statute for failing to lock them up) but there is a general tort duty to protect against foreseeable events. A random thief randomly choosing to burgle your home is not "foreseeable" (though a probability does exist) but keeping them in a safe would I imagine protect you from that issue. I have yet to hear about a case where someone was held liable for a randomly stolen gun where the gun was locked up properly (though we have seen how they use these events to tear apart other aspects of their lives and I suspect we will see more lawsuits on this point in the future). I have heard up here in MA where a locked gun was not secured enough to relinquish that tort responsibility but that was an issue where a known violent mentally disturbed step son lived in the home. Hence it was more foreseeable than some random break in.
BTW: Most burglars are lazy. I am betting if the safe is large enough they pass it up. What I would worry about is someone they tell about the safe coming back a few weeks later with tools.
Quick answer: No.
The Rhode Island gun laws can be found here:
http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE11/11-47/INDEX.HTM
Refer to: 11-47-60.1 Safe storage.
