Under the offense of Making Firearm Accessible to a Child, what must be proven when a child gains access to a readily dischargeable firearm?

• A. The owner failed to secure the firearm and a child gained access.
• B. The child used the firearm in a crime.
• C. The firearm was stored in a locked safe.
• D. The owner had previously reported the firearm missing.

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that this offense rests on leaving a firearm in a place where a child can access it, and the firearm being readily dischargeable. What must be proven is that the person who had the firearm failed to secure it properly and that a child actually gained access to it. The law focuses on the act of leaving the firearm accessible and the resulting risk to a child, not on whether the child used the gun or committed another crime.

Why the other ideas don’t fit: showing the child used the firearm in a crime isn’t required to prove the offense—the risk is created by the access itself. The firearm being stored in a locked safe would defeat accessibility, so it wouldn’t support the charge. A missing-person report doesn’t relate to the act of leaving a firearm accessible.