Firearm storage patterns in US homes with children

OBJECTIVES: This study determined the prevalence and storage patterns of firearms in US homes with children. METHODS: We analyzed data from the 1994 National Health Interview Survey and Year 2000 objectives supplement. A multistage sample design was used to represent the civilian noninstitutionalized US population. RESULTS: Respondents from 35% of the homes with children younger than 18 years (representing more than 22 million children in more than 11 million homes) reported having at least 1 firearm. Among homes with children and firearms, 43% had at least 1 unlocked firearm (i.e., not in a locked place and not locked with a trigger lock or other locking mechanism). Overall, 9% kept firearms unlocked and loaded, and 4% kept them unlocked, unloaded, and stored with ammunition; thus, a total of 13% of the homes with children and firearms--1.4 million homes with 2.6 million children--stored firearms in a manner most accessible to children. In contrast, 39% of these families kept firearms locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition. CONCLUSIONS: Many children live in homes with firearms that are stored in an accessible manner. Efforts to prevent children's access to firearms are needed.     

Household firearm storage practices: Do responses differ by whether or not individuals ever use firearms?

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence with which firearms are stored loaded or unlocked has been measured in previous surveys. Our purpose was to compare household firearm storage practices reported by firearm users and nonusers. METHODS: We analyzed telephone survey data from the 1992 and 1993 Oregon Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System on 2454 randomly selected adults in households with firearms. We compared reported firearm storage practices among persons who ever used firearms with persons who had never used firearms by demographics and type of firearm. RESULTS: Nonusers of firearms were much less likely than firearm users to report that household firearms were always or sometimes stored loaded [odds ratio (OR) = 0.45, 95% confidence interval (CI):0.36-0.54] or stored loaded and unlocked (OR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.36-0.57). Except for persons aged 18 to 34 years and persons in handgun-only households, differences in reported firearm storage practices between nonusers and users varied little by demographic characteristics or by type of firearm. Nonusers of household firearms may be unaware that firearms are stored loaded or stored loaded and unlocked in their homes. CONCLUSIONS: Surveys that do not consider firearm use status may underestimate household exposure to loaded firearms or to loaded and unlocked firearms.     

Guns in the home and risk of a violent death in the home: findings from a national study

Data from a US mortality follow-back survey were analyzed to determine whether having a firearm in the home increases the risk of a violent death in the home and whether risk varies by storage practice, type of gun, or number of guns in the home. Those persons with guns in the home were at greater risk than those without guns in the home of dying from a homicide in the home (adjusted odds ratio = 1.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 3.4). They were also at greater risk of dying from a firearm homicide, but risk varied by age and whether the person was living with others at the time of death. The risk of dying from a suicide in the home was greater for males in homes with guns than for males without guns in the home (adjusted odds ratio = 10.4, 95% confidence interval: 5.8, 18.9). Persons with guns in the home were also more likely to have died from suicide committed with a firearm than from one committed by using a different method (adjusted odds ratio = 31.1, 95% confidence interval: 19.5, 49.6). Results show that regardless of storage practice, type of gun, or number of firearms in the home, having a gun in the home was associated with an increased risk of firearm homicide and firearm suicide in the home.     

Firearm ownership and health care workers.

OBJECTIVE. Health professionals have increasingly become aware of the public health hazards caused by firearms. This study was designed to determine the firearm ownership and storage practices of a group of health care workers. METHODS. All 6436 nonphysician employees of a large health maintenance organization were surveyed as part of an ongoing effort to enhance the organization''s effectiveness. Two questions regarding firearm ownership and storage practices were included in the 85-question survey instrument. A total of 4999 surveys were returned, for a response rate of 78%. RESULTS. Forty-two percent of the health workers surveyed reported keeping a firearm in their home, and 35% of firearm owners stored that firearm loaded. Men were more likely than women to report having a firearm in the home. Firearm ownership and storage of a loaded firearm decreased with higher levels of education in both sexes. A measure of increased alcohol consumption was related to higher rates of firearm ownership and storage of loaded firearms in men. CONCLUSIONS. A substantial number of health care workers had firearms in their homes and did not store them safely. Counseling regarding the risks associated with easy access to firearms should be considered for inclusion in employee health programs as well as in employee assistance and alcohol treatment programs.     

Validating survey responses to questions about gun ownership among owners of registered handguns

While survey-based data on firearm ownership are essential for epidemiologic studies of the relation between gun ownership and injuries, the validity of respondent answers to questions about gun ownership has not been confirmed. In order to assess the accuracy of interview data about firearms, in June to August 1987, the authors attempted to contact residents of 75 homes in the cities of Memphis, Tennessee and Seattle, Washington listed as the address of the owner of a recently registered handgun. Despite problems with inaccurate registration data, contact was ultimately made with 55 households, 35 of which consented to a general interview that included a series of questions about gun ownership. Respondents in 31 of these 35 households (88.6%) readily acknowledged that one or more guns were kept in their home. Respondents in three of the remaining four households (8.6%) stated that guns were recently kept in their homes but were no longer kept there. Only one respondent (2.9%) denied categorically that guns of any kind were kept in her home. The authors conclude that, at least among registered gun owners, respondent answers to questions about gun ownership are generally valid and that survey data of this type can be utilized with confidence.     

Storage of poisonous substances and firearms in homes with young children visitors and older adults

BACKGROUND: Most unintentional childhood poisonings and firearm injuries occur in residential environments. Therefore, a preventive strategy includes limiting children's access to poisons and firearms through safe storage. This study examines storage of poisons and firearms among households with older adults, and households where young children reside compared to those where they visit only. METHODS: Sample is from a 2002 national random-digit-dial survey of 1003 households. Analyses were weighted to reflect the national population. RESULTS: There were 637 households with children residents or visitors aged <6 years. Seventy-five percent of the households (n =480) had children aged <6 as visitors only, and 15% had older adult residents (aged >/=70 years). Poisons and firearms were stored less securely in homes with young children as visitors as compared to those homes with resident young children. In 55% of homes where young children lived, and 74% of homes where young children were only visitors, household chemicals were reportedly stored unlocked. Although firearm ownership was comparable between the two categories of households (33% vs 34%), homes in which children were only visitors were more likely to store firearms unlocked (56%), than homes in which children resided (33%). Homes with older adult residents had more firearms present. CONCLUSIONS: Children are at risk from improperly stored poisonous substances and firearms in their own homes and homes they visit. Strategies are needed to improve the storage practices of both poisons and firearms to minimize in-home hazards to young children, particularly raising awareness of these hazards to young visitors.     

'In the safety of your own home': results from a national survey on gun use at home

In the US, guns, particularly handguns, are typically brought into the home for protection. The wisdom of having a firearm in the home, however, is disputed. While guns appear to be a risk factor for family homicide, suicide and unintentional firearm fatality, no evidence has been available about gun use at home to intimidate family members and little about gun use to thwart crimes by intruders, or about the use of other weapons in home self-defense. Over the past decade, various private surveys have asked questions about the respondent's use of guns in self-defense. None, however, has asked detailed questions about the use of guns to threaten or intimidate the respondent. This study presents results from a national random digit dial telephone survey of 1906 US adults conducted in the spring of 1996. Respondents were asked about hostile gun displays and use of guns and other weapons in self-defense at home in the past five years. The objective of the survey was to assess the relative frequency and characteristics of weapons-related events at home. Thirteen respondents reported that a gun was displayed against them at home, two reported using a gun in self-defense at home, and 24 reported using another weapon (e.g. knife, baseball bat) in home self-defense. While we do not always know whose weapon was used in these incidents, most gun brandishings were by male intimates against women. A gun in the home can be used against family members or intruders and can be used not only to kill and wound, but to intimidate and frighten. This small study provides some evidence that guns may be used at least as often by family members to frighten intimates as to thwart crime, and that other weapons are far more commonly used against intruders than are guns.     

State Firearm Laws and Interstate Transfer of Guns in the USA, 2006–2016

In a cross-sectional, panel study, we examined the relationship between state firearm laws and the extent of interstate transfer of guns, as measured by the percentage of crime guns recovered in a state and traced to an in-state source (as opposed to guns recovered in a state and traced to an out-of-state source). We used 2006–2016 data on state firearm laws obtained from a search of selected state statutes and 2006–2016 crime gun trace data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. We examined the relationship between state firearm laws and interstate transfer of guns using annual data from all 50 states during the period 2006–2016 and employing a two-way fixed effects model. The primary outcome variable was the percentage of crime guns recovered in a state that could be traced to an original point of purchase within that state as opposed to another state. The main exposure variables were eight specific state firearm laws pertaining to dealer licensing, sales restrictions, background checks, registration, prohibitors for firearm purchase, and straw purchase of guns. Four laws were independently associated with a significantly lower percentage of in-state guns: a waiting period for handgun purchase, permits required for firearm purchase, prohibition of firearm possession by people convicted of a violent misdemeanor, and a requirement for relinquishment of firearms when a person becomes disqualified from owning them. States with a higher number of gun laws had a lower percentage of traced guns to in-state dealers, with each increase of one in the total number of laws associated with a decrease of 1.6 percentage points in the proportion of recovered guns that were traced to an in-state as opposed to an out-of-state source. Based on an examination of the movement patterns of guns across states, the overall observed pattern of gun flow was out of states with weak gun laws and into states with strong gun laws. These findings indicate that certain state firearm laws are associated with a lower percentage of recovered crime guns being traced to an in-state source, suggesting reduced access to guns in states with those laws.     

Interpreting the Empirical Evidence on Illegal Gun Market Dynamics

Thousands of Americans are killed by gunfire each year, and hundreds of thousands more are injured or threatened with guns in robberies and assaults. The burden of gun violence in urban areas is particularly high. Critics suggest that the results of firearm trace data and gun trafficking investigation studies cannot be used to understand the illegal supply of guns to criminals and, therefore, that regulatory and enforcement efforts designed to disrupt illegal firearms markets are futile in addressing criminal access to firearms. In this paper, we present new data to address three key arguments used by skeptics to undermine research on illegal gun market dynamics. We find that criminals rely upon a diverse set of illegal diversion pathways to acquire guns, gun traffickers usually divert small numbers of guns, newer guns are diverted through close-to-retail diversions from legal firearms commerce, and that a diverse set of gun trafficking indicators are needed to identify and shut down gun trafficking pathways.     

Children and firearms in Turkish homes

Background Unintentional firearm injuries are an important cause of preventable deaths and disabilities among children. Keeping firearms at home and letting children to see or touch them increases the risk of injury. Methods This cross‐sectional study was conducted to estimate the extent of the firearm problem in an Anatolian province in Turkey. A random sample of families were approached and were asked to answer a series of questions completed by research assistants. Results In 974 randomly selected households, there were 2129 children aged less than 18 years, 11.1% of the fathers have a job in the firearms industry or in the security sector, and 12.3% of the households kept a firearm at home. Only 25.6% of the firearms were kept in a safe place, and 29.3% of the firearms and ammunition were kept separately. Overall, 70.9% of the children whose parents have firearms saw the firearm and 27.2% had handled it. Conclusions Results of this study pointed to the urgent need for preventive measures for the physical separation of guns from children. The establishment of effective firearms safety programmes requires an understanding of the culture and routine behaviours of the target population.     

Firearms injuries and deaths: a critical public health issue. American Medical Association Council on Scientific Affairs.

The prevention of firearm deaths and injuries is one of the most complex and controversial issues facing the public health profession in recent years. Laws have been enacted to control or discourage private gun ownership, and especially to eliminate guns from the hands of criminals, but the laws'' effects in reducing crime and firearm-related injuries and deaths have been disappointing. Gunshot wounds are the 12th leading cause of death in the United States and more than half of all suicides are committed with guns. There are virtually no reliable data on the number of nonfatal firearm injuries. One of the most troubling aspects of handgun violence is that children often are the victims. Educational efforts have been attempted to promote the safer use of firearms, but they have not led to a significant reduction in the number of fatalities, since most firearm incidents are intended to do harm.     

Adolescents and firearms: a California statewide survey

OBJECTIVES: We assessed the prevalence and correlates of adolescents' reports regarding firearms in their homes, of their own, of close friends, and of same-aged peers. METHODS: Random-digit-dialed interviews were conducted with 5801 adolescents as part of the California Health Interview Survey. RESULTS: One fifth (19.6%) of California adolescents reported having a firearm in their homes; few (3.0%) reported having their own gun. Characteristics associated with having one's own gun and with perceptions regarding others' guns generally were consistent with characteristics associated with having a firearm in the home. The 2 exceptions were related to socioeconomic status and to ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: The source from which adolescents obtain guns, especially adolescents from less wealthy households, merits further investigation. Further research is needed to ascertain the accuracy of Black and Latino adolescents' perceptions regarding handguns among their peers.     

Characteristics of automatic or semiautomatic firearm ownership in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined ownership patterns of automatic/ semiautomatic firearms in the United States. METHODS: Data were derived from a national random-digit-dialing telephone survey of 800 gun owners. RESULTS: Sixty percent of gun owners reported owning an automatic or semiautomatic firearm. In comparison with other gun owners, owners of automatics or semiautomatics were more likely to be male, live in the South, own a gun for protection, and have a gun for work. They were also more likely to report binge drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Owners of automatic or semiautomatic firearms differ from other gun owners in several respects, including frequency of binge drinking.     

Safer storage of firearms at home and risk of suicide: a study of protective factors in a nationally representative sample

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the protective effect of storing firearms locked or unloaded, or both, on the risk of suicide by firearms among people with relatively low intention to die. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross sectional survey. The 1993 National Mortality Followback Survey of 22 957 deaths in the United States, representing 2.2 million people, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. PARTICIPANTS: Decedent's next of kin answered questions regarding various aspects of decedent's life to supplement information from death certificates. MAIN RESULTS: Compared with decedents who stored their firearm unlocked or loaded, those who stored their firearms locked or unloaded, or both, were less likely to commit suicide by firearms (locked: OR = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.24 to 0.66; unloaded OR = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.18 to 0.49). CONCLUSIONS: This study further supports the utility of devices and practices intended to reduce the likelihood of unauthorised or impulsive use of firearms.     

Physician firearm ownership as a predictor of firearm injury prevention practice

OBJECTIVES: This study explored the relation between physicians' gun ownership and their attitudes and practices regarding firearm injury prevention. METHODS: Internists and surgeons were surveyed, and logistic regression models were developed with physicians' personal involvement with firearms (in the form of a gun score) as the primary independent variable. RESULTS: Higher gun scores were associated with less agreement that firearm injury is a public health issue and that physicians should be involved in firearm injury prevention but with a greater likelihood of reporting the inclusion of firearm ownership and storage as part of patient safety counseling. CONCLUSIONS: Despite being less likely to say that doctors should participate in firearm injury prevention, physician gun owners are more likely than nonowners to report counseling patients about firearm safety.     

The incidence of defensive firearm use by US crime victims, 1987 through 1990.

It is well known that many crimes in the United States are committed with firearms. Less adequately documented is the frequency with which victims use guns in self-defense. We used National Crime Victimization Survey data to examine incidents where victims employed guns against offenders. Between 1987 and 1990 there were an estimated 258,460 incidents of firearm defense, an annual mean of 64,615. Victims used firearms in 0.18% of all crimes recorded by the survey and in 0.83% of violent offenses. Firearm self-defense is rare compared with gun crimes.     

Support for a Comprehensive Background Check Requirement and Expanded Denial Criteria for Firearm Transfers: Findings from the Firearms Licensee Survey

Federal and state policies on eligibility to purchase and possess firearms and background check requirements for firearm transfers are undergoing intensive review and, in some cases, modification. Our objective in this third report from the Firearms Licensee Survey (FLS) is to assess support among federally licensed firearms retailers (gun dealers and pawnbrokers) for a background check requirement on all firearm transfers and selected criteria for denying the purchase of handguns based on criminal convictions, alcohol abuse, and serious mental illness. The FLS was conducted by mail during June–August, 2011 on a random sample of 1,601 licensed dealers and pawnbrokers in 43 states who were believed to sell at least 50 firearms annually. The response rate was 36.9 %, typical of establishment surveys using such methods. Most respondents (55.4 %) endorsed a comprehensive background check requirement; 37.5 % strongly favored it. Support was more common and stronger among pawnbrokers than dealers and among respondents who believed that “it is too easy for criminals to get guns.” Support was positively associated with many establishment characteristics, including sales of inexpensive handguns, sales that were denied when the purchasers failed background checks, and sales of firearms that were later subjected to ownership tracing, and were negatively associated with sales at gun shows. Support for three existing and nine potential criteria for denial of handgun purchase involving criminal activity, alcohol abuse, and mental illness exceeded 90 % in six cases and fell below 2/3 in one. Support again increased with sales of inexpensive handguns and denied sales and decreased with sales of tactical (assault-type) rifles. In this survey, which was conducted prior to mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado; Oak Creek, Wisconsin; Newtown, Connecticut; and elsewhere, licensed firearm sellers exhibited moderate support for a comprehensive background check requirement and very strong support for additional criteria for denial of handgun purchases. In both cases, support was associated with the intensity of respondents’ exposure to illegal activities.     

High school students’ attitudes about firearms policies

PURPOSE: To examine high school students' attitudes about firearm policies and to compare their attitudes with those of adults. METHODS: The Hamilton Youth and Guns Poll is the first national survey of high school students about their attitudes concerning firearm policies. Questions were asked of 1005 sophomores, juniors, and seniors about their actual (i.e., direct) exposure (e.g., presence of a gun in the home) and about their social (i.e., indirect) exposure (e.g., whether the student could get a gun) to firearms and related violence. Population weights were applied, and multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between demographic and exposure variables and opinions about firearm policies. RESULTS: Most high school students supported more restrictive firearm policies. Opinions varied little by demographic variables with the exception of gender. Females were significantly more supportive of most firearm policies. Actual exposure was a more consistent predictor than social exposure. Students living in a home with a gun, particularly a handgun, were less likely to support most restrictive gun policies. CONCLUSIONS: Most high school students in the United States favor stringent policies governing firearms. Adolescents' attitudes about firearm policies parallel those of adults.     

Storage of household firearms: an examination of the attitudes and beliefs of married women with children

Although safe firearm storage is a promising injury prevention strategy, many parents do not keep their firearms unloaded and locked up. Using the theory of planned behavior as a guiding conceptual framework, this study examines factors associated with safe storage among married women with children and who have firearms in their homes. Data come from a national telephone survey (n=185). We examined beliefs about defensive firearm use, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and firearm storage practices. A Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test was conducted to assess associations between psychosocial factors and firearm storage practices. Women were highly motivated to keep firearms stored safely. Those reporting safe storage practices had more favorable attitudes, more supportive subjective norms and higher perceptions of behavioral control than those without safe storage. One-fourth believed a firearm would prevent a family member from being hurt in case of a break-in, 58% believed a firearm could scare off a burglar. Some 63% said they leave decisions about firearm storage to their husbands. Women were highly motivated to store firearms safely as evidenced by favorable attitudes, supportive subjective norms and high perceptions of behavioral control. This was especially true for those reporting safer storage practices.     

State Firearm Laws,Firearm Ownership,and Safety Practices Among Families of Preschool-Aged Children

Objectives. We investigated how state-level firearms legislation is associated with firearm ownership and storage among families with preschool-aged children.Methods. Using 2005 nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (n = 8100), we conducted multinomial regression models to examine the associations between state-level firearms legislation generally, child access prevention (CAP) firearms legislation specifically, and parental firearm ownership and storage safety practices.Results. Overall, 8% of families with children aged 4 years living in states with stronger firearm laws and CAP laws owned firearms compared with 24% of families in states with weaker firearm laws and no CAP laws. Storage behaviors of firearm owners differed minimally across legislative contexts. When we controlled for family- and state-level characteristics, we found that firearm legislation and CAP laws interacted to predict ownership and storage behaviors, with unsafe storage least likely among families in states with both CAP laws and stronger firearm legislation.Conclusions. Broader firearm legislation is linked with the efficacy of child-specific legislation in promoting responsible firearm ownership.Family firearm safety practices are a major public health concern, with firearm-related deaths being one of the leading causes of injury-related fatalities among young children.1 Recent media attention on accidental shootings involving young children has heightened public and policy debate over the role of government in restricting access to firearms and the effectiveness of firearm laws.2,3 Some states have implemented laws—often referred to generally as child access prevention (CAP) laws—that legislate safe firearm storage practices among families with children and make adults criminally liable for children’s unsupervised use of firearms. Studies examining the effects of CAP laws, however, report mixed findings, suggesting that they have a greater effect on child morbidity and mortality when instituted in states with higher levels of pediatric firearm incidents and when the penalties associated with firearm usage are more stringent.4–8 One explanation for the lack of consistent findings is that most studies have not directly measured the behavior CAP laws intend to regulate. That is, little is known about how these access laws are associated with factors beyond mortality and morbidity, such as firearm storage behaviors. We addressed this gap by empirically testing the relationship between CAP laws and firearm storage behaviors in a nationally representative sample.Currently, limitations of this literature constrain the ability to draw strong conclusions about the effects of state-level policies on firearm ownership and storage practices.4,9 For example, because person-level data on firearm-related behavior is scarce, many studies that rely on macrolevel statistics (e.g., state firearm ownership, firearm-related mortality) run the risk of creating ecological fallacies, whereby associations at the aggregate level are erroneously extrapolated to the individual level.10 Similarly, aggregate-level data do not allow the examination of the specific populations that the policies address and, hence, may not be sufficiently sensitive to directly test these policies’ effects. A lack of data that can be used to compare ownership and specific aspects of that ownership, such as safety practices, also makes it difficult to determine if stronger laws generally affect firearm ownership or laws directed at specific unsafe behaviors work. Furthermore, the potential for state policies to be a product of the selectivity of the residents of the state complicates disentangling the effects of state-level firearm laws.11 Lawmakers in states with a high proportion of firearm owners may be more reluctant to pass laws that regulate firearm practices; consequently, observed correlations between laws and state-level firearm ownership may reflect state population characteristics or state “gun culture” to a greater extent than states’ firearm policy (or lack thereof).In line with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation that parents who own firearms store them locked and unloaded, with ammunition locked and stored separately,12 we examined how laws aimed at firearm storage practices—along with general state-level firearm laws—are associated with firearm ownership and storage behaviors among families with preschool-aged children. Previous research has suggested a theoretical framework emphasizing the importance of both situational and individual characteristics in understanding patterns of firearm ownership.13 For example, studies link higher socioeconomic status, being White, and having a man in the house with higher levels of firearm ownership.14,15 We anticipated that (1) families in states with stronger general and child-specific firearm legislation would have the lowest rates of firearm ownership and the highest rates of safe firearm storage, (2) families in states with weaker firearm legislation would report the highest levels of ownership and the lowest levels of storage safety, and (3) families in states with a relatively strong set of laws in one domain but not in the other would fall between these 2 groups, with higher levels of ownership and safer storage practices in states with CAP laws but weaker general laws than in states with the opposite combination of laws.