Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Providing a minor with access to a loaded firearm.

The mere act of giving a minor access to a firearm is not a federal offense, and is probably not against any state laws either. Many teenagers hunt, shoot skeet, take target practice, or otherwise use guns for perfectly legal purposes. It would make no sense to criminalize the act of enabling someone to do something legal.

The fact that giving a minor access to a firearm is not generally a crime does not mean that doing so is *always* legal. Handing over a weapon to a teen who says he wants to use it to kill his teacher, for example, is a sure-fire way to end up behind bars. Whether a particular instance is criminal or not will depend upon the facts, but you have provided no facts in your question so there is no way I can offer you a meaningful answer.

In addition to and/or instead of criminal liability, those who facilitate a gun-related crime committed by a minor may well be civilly liable for any harm which would not have occurred but for the gun.

Regardless of the potential liability involved, every gun owner should take responsibility for securing his weapons in order to prevent the type of tragedies we see all too often in this country. Guns in the home often end up being used to kill the homeowner and/or members of his family. Even in less drastic cases, poorly-secured guns are often stolen by criminals who use them in future crimes. Most gun owners are responsible individuals who take all the appropriate precautions, but there are enough who don't to make this a real problem for our society.

Re: Providing a minor with access to a loaded firearm.

It is an offense under the California Penal Code (with specified exceptions for junior riflepersons), it's really foolish, it could get you sued, and/or it could get your kid taken away by the California child-welfare Gestapo. I don't know whether it's a federal offense.

Re: Providing a minor with access to a loaded firearm.

Mere access and use under proper supervision is not illegal, but if the child or others are injured then you have serious civil and possible criminal consequences. Unsafe storage allowing unsupervised access is illegal with state and federal penalties.