Arcata may have a new gun control law on its horizon. During the Arcata City Council meeting on Wednesday, council members agreed to have city staff write a Safe Storage Firearms ordinance. The ordinance, if passed, would require firearms be unloaded and stored in lockers or safes within Arcata city limits.

The request for a safe storage ordinance was introduced by Northcoast Preparatory Academy High School students, Olivia Joachim and Eva Swartz during the Arcata City Council meeting on May 2.

“Having a safe storage ordinance will make our community safer for everyone,” Joachim and Swartz stated in their request.

The girls created an acronym for their cause: S.L.U.G.S., which stands for “Save Lives, Use Gun Storage.” The primary purpose of their request is to help prevent minors from accessing guns.

The request refers to Massachusetts’ safe storage law, which requires firearms be stored in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or safety device.

Pacific Outfitters owner Aaron Ostrom told the Outpost that he’s concerned an ordinance like this may infringe on the rights of Humboldt county citizens who are licensed to carry concealed weapons.

“I’m totally for a family’s right to protect themselves in their own home with lethal force,” Ostrom said. Ostrom worries that requiring firearms to be unloaded and locked up may make home protection difficult.

However, Ostrom does support safe storage for firearms. Ostrom teaches the California Concealed Weapons (CCW) course in Eureka says that teaching proper safety is their number one priority.

“We’re huge advocates for proper firearm storage,” Ostrom said. “You can never have too much training.“

Ostrom also questions how this law would be enforced. This issue was also raised at the Council meeting on Wednesday.

Arcata City Manager Karen Diemer said that in many cases, there would be no way of knowing that a firearm was kept unlocked unless it was stolen.

Diemer said about the ordinance, “We will work to try to craft one that does not create a deterrent to reporting stolen firearms.”

City Council Member Paul Pitino told the Outpost that he sees this ordinance as a simple adjustment to Arcata Municipal Code’s brief article on firearms, which he described as “a bullshit one page thing.”

Pitino said he needs to do further research and see a draft of the ordinance before fully understanding it. But he’s in support of Arcata moving in the direction of tighter gun control laws, which he feels are important in current times.

“It’s symbolic support,” Pitino said. “[It shows] we’re behind better gun control and lower gun violence.”