How to help someone store firearms for a while
If someone you care about is going through a hard time, offering to help store their firearms away from home for a while is one of the most practical things you can do. It's their choice, and it's temporary.
Bringing it up
- Pick a calm moment and talk in private.
- Lead with care, not with the firearms. Say what you've noticed and that you're on their side.
- Make it their choice and make it temporary. You're not questioning their right to own firearms. You're offering to hold on to them, or help store them, until things settle down.
- Offer to do the legwork: make the call, drive, or go with them.
One way to say it:
I care about you, and I know things have been hard lately. Would you be open to letting me hold on to your guns for a little while, or storing them somewhere for now? I can help with all of it.
If they say no, you can keep the door open and bring it up again later.
Options in Utah
- You, or someone else they trust. Anyone who can legally have firearms can hold them for a while.
- Safe Harbor. If you live in the same home, you can take the firearm to a participating police or sheriff's office, and they hold it for 60 days, or 60 more if you ask. How Safe Harbor works.
- A SafeReach Locker. They lock it away themselves, and only they have access.
- A gun shop. Many offer temporary storage. Ask about time limits and fees.
- A lock at home. A free safe or cable lock, with someone else keeping the key or code for now.
Other steps that help
- Lock up medications too, and get rid of ones no one needs. Find a free drop box.
- Utah's voluntary do-not-sell list lets a person block themselves from buying firearms for a while. Only they can sign up. How it works.