Law Requiring Guns to be Locked up at Home Takes Effect January 1

A new law mandating guns be kept locked in Illinois homes and reporting lost or stolen firearms within 48 hours will take effect Jan. 1, 2026.

The controls are contained in Senate Bill 8, known as the Safe Storage Act.

The Act states:

Provides that a firearm owner shall not possess or possess any firearm on any premises where the firearm owner knows or reasonably should know that a minor is present without the lawful permission of the minor’s parent, guardian, or person having charge of the minor, at-risk person, or any prohibited person, unless the firearm is secured in a closed container, properly enclosed so that no person other than the owner or other legally authorized user can access the firearm. The firearm becomes inaccessible or unusable.

Regarding reporting stolen guns, the Act requires gun owners to report such thefts within 48 hours or potentially risk “civil penalties…”.[which] Not to exceed $10,000.”

Just the News reported that Gabby Giffords’ gun control group, Giffords, praised the passage of gun control, giving Illinois an “A” for enacting new restrictions.

Mike Bloomberg’s affiliate Everytown for Gun Safety ranks Illinois third in the nation for gun control stringency. Despite numerous gun controls, Breitbart News reported that at least 28 people were shot over the recent Christmas weekend.

At least eight people were shot in Chicago on Christmas night alone.