NC H643

Removes the requirement that a firearm be "in a condition that the firearm can be discharged" for criminal liability under the safe storage statute, extending coverage to both loaded and unloaded firearms stored accessible to minors

Responds to the 2024 Court of Appeals decision in State v. Cable, where a 16-year-old found an unloaded firearm stored next to ammunition, loaded it, and accidentally killed himself, but the court found the statute ambiguous

Increases the criminal penalty from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class A1 misdemeanor for violations

Liability attaches when a minor gains unauthorized access and possesses the firearm on school property, exhibits it publicly in a careless or threatening manner, causes injury or death, or uses it to commit a crime

Effective December 1, 2025, applying to offenses committed on or after that date