HB 2250
AN ACT relating to the criminal offense of making a firearm accessible to a
89th Regular Session
Jan 14, 2025 - Jun 2, 2025 • Session ended
Awaiting Committee Assignment
Bill filed, pending referral to House committee
Committee
Not yet assigned
Fiscal Note
Not available
What This Bill Does
Modifies Texas law regarding firearm storage and child access, expanding the definition of a child to include individuals under 18 years old. It requires gun owners to secure firearms in a locked container or render them inoperable, making it a criminal offense if a child gains unauthorized access to a firearm, with specific exceptions for supervised hunting, sporting activities, agricultural work, and situations involving property violations.
Subject Areas
Bill Text
relating to the criminal offense of making a firearm accessible to a BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Sections 46.13(a), (b), and (c), Penal Code, are (1) "Child" means a person younger than 18 [17] years (2) ["Readily dischargeable firearm" means a firearm that is loaded with ammunition, whether or not a round is in the (A) render a firearm inaccessible or unusable to any person other than the owner by storing the [take steps that a reasonable person would take to prevent the access to a readily dischargeable firearm by a child, including but not limited to placing a] firearm, unloaded, in a locked container that is (B) temporarily render a [rendering the] firearm inoperable by a trigger lock or other means. (b) A person commits an offense if a child gains access to a [readily dischargeable] firearm and the person with criminal (1) failed to secure the firearm; or (2) left the firearm in a place to which the person knew or should have known the child would gain access. (c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the child's access to the firearm: (1) was supervised by a person older than 18 years of age and was for hunting, sporting, or other lawful purposes; (2) [consisted of lawful defense by the child of [(3)] was gained as a result of any person [by] entering property in violation of this code; or (3) [(4)] occurred during a time when the actor was engaged in an agricultural enterprise. SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
Bill Sponsors
Legislators who authored or co-sponsored this bill.
Expert Lobbyists for This Bill
These lobbyists specialize in Weapons and related subject areas.
Brianna M. Menard
Haley Cornyn
Michael J. Johnson
Vera Denise Rose
Gavin L. Massingill
Fred Shannon
Sarah Hicks
Matthew Bentley
Luis Saenz
Kelly Barnes
Bill History
Bill filed: AN ACT relating to the criminal offense of making a firearm accessible to a
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