Could gunowners face charges if kids access unlocked weapons? State laws differ

A Michigan man is the first person to face charges under the state’s new law requiring gun owners to keep weapons in locked storage containers around minors.

The case is bringing attention to similar state laws across the U.S. and prosecutors’ determination of when to bring criminal charges using them.

The debate is particularly sharp in Michigan, where prosecutors in another county recently secured the first conviction in the U.S. against a parent of a child who committed a mass school shooting.