Many Households with Firearms Don't Lock Them: New Study
Many families who own guns admit they don't store them safely according to a recent study published in the medical journal Pediatrics. The study involved more than 3.700 parents with children between 2 and 11 years of age, interviewed in the offices of pediatricians in 45 states and Puerto Rico. About half of all families with guns reported that they were not kept locked and roughly 20% failed to store firearms and ammunition in separate locations.
Among other interesting research findings, families living in rural areas were more likely to own a gun primarily for recreation, while families living in urban areas were more likely to own a gun for security reasons. Also, states with high overall gun ownership rates such as Wyoming (63%), and areas with low gun ownership rates such as D.C. (5%) were found to have very similar percentages of unsafe storage practices.
Storing firearms in an unsafe manner increases the likelihood of accidental injury and death. The most important thing parents can do to reduce the risk of accidental firearms injury in the home is to restrict children's access to guns. Safe Kids U.S.A. offers the following gun safety tips to protect your children from injury:
"What gun owners can do:
- If you have children in the home, any gun is a potential danger to them. Seriously consider the risks.
- Store firearms unloaded, locked up and out of children’s reach.
- Store ammunition in a separate, locked location.
- Use quality gun locks, lock boxes or gun safes on every firearm. Gun locks, when correctly installed, prevent firearms from being discharged without the lock being removed.
- Keep gun storage keys and lock combinations hidden in a separate location.
- Take a course in using, maintaining and storing guns safely.
- Talk to your children about the potential dangers of guns.
- Teach children never to touch or play with a gun.
- Teach children to tell an adult if they find a gun, or call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number if no adult is present.
- Check with neighbors, friends or relatives – or adults in any other homes where children visit – to ensure they follow safe storage practices if firearms are in the home."
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