SOLANA BEACH – Following close behind the city of San Diego, the Solana Beach City Council passed an ordinance mandating the safe storage of firearms at its Aug. 28 meeting.
The ordinance would require residents to keep firearms safely stored or disable them with a trigger lock, unless the weapon is on their person or in their immediate control.
According to the staff report, the ordinance is intended to help prevent accidental shootings, teen suicides and firearm thefts in the event of a burglary.
The motion was passed unanimously but will require a second reading to go into effect.
Councilwomen Kristi Becker and Kelly Harless proposed the ordinance to city staff, in the wake of several back-to-back mass shootings over the summer.
“So many of these acts are impulsive and can be prevented by limiting access to firearms in the home,” said Harless, referring to both mass shootings and teen suicides that occur when a gun is readily accessible.
Solana Beach will be the second city in the county to adopt a safe gun storage ordinance.
The city of San Diego approved such an ordinance in mid-July. It generated some backlash from local gun rights advocacy groups such as the California Rifle and Pistol Association, with gun owners wary the ordinance would inhibit their ability to protect their home in case of an emergency.
However, in Solana Beach, the ordinance moved forward with little fanfare. Speakers with local anti-gun violence group NeverAgainCA came to support council approval.
This isn’t the first time Solana Beach has weighed in on gun control issues — the coastal city previously passed a resolution opposing the sale of guns and ammunition at the neighboring Del Mar Fairgrounds, addressing a gun show that frequently occurs on the state-owned property.
