SPRINGFIELD — Gun owners could face thousands of dollars in fines if they don’t keep their weapons properly stored around minors under a bill headed to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk.

The Safe Gun Storage Act would require owners to keep firearms in a locked box wherever they know “or reasonably should know” that someone under 18 could get their hands on it, according to the bill that passed the Illinois House by a 69-40 vote on Wednesday.

That applies to weapons left unsecured around people legally prohibited from handling a gun, and people considered “at risk of attempting suicide or causing physical harm to oneself or others.” Fines of up to $10,000 could be handed down if the gun is used in a crime, or results in injury or death, and it could result in misdemeanor criminal charges.

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