FL H0835

Amends section 790.174, Florida Statutes, to revise requirements for safe storage of loaded firearms on premises under a person's control when minors under 16 years of age may access them

Requires loaded firearms be kept in a securely locked box or container, in a secure location, or secured with a trigger lock, except when the person is carrying the firearm on their body or within close proximity to retrieve and use it immediately

Establishes that violation of the safe storage requirement constitutes a second-degree misdemeanor only when a minor gains unauthorized access to the firearm and possesses or exhibits it in a public place or in a rude, careless, angry, or threatening manner

Requires the Department of Children and Families to adopt a form for child-placing agencies to use during adoption home studies that requires prospective adoptive applicants to acknowledge in writing receipt of the firearm storage requirements

Takes effect October 1, 2017