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

Firearm Violence in the United States: An Issue of the Highest Moral Order

Firearm violence in the United States produces over 36,000 deaths and 74,000 sustained firearm-related injuries yearly. The paper describes the burden of firearm violence with emphasis on the disproportionate burden on children, racial/ethnic minorities, women and the healthcare system. Second, this paper identifies factors that could mitigate the burden of firearm violence by applying a blend of key ethical theories to support population level interventions and recommendations that may restrict individual rights. Such recommendations can further support targeted research to inform and implement interventions, policies and laws related to firearm access and use, in order to significantly reduce the burden of firearm violence on individuals, health care systems, vulnerable populations and society-at-large. By incorporating a blended public health ethics to address firearm violence, we propose a balance between societal obligations and individual rights and privileges.

Assessment of Reasons for Ownership and Attitudes About Policies Among Firearm Owners With and Without Children

IMPORTANCE

Given the dangers that firearms in the home pose to children, it is critical to engage parents in effective firearm safety counseling. This requires a broader understanding of how the presence of children in the home is associated with motivations surrounding gun ownership.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association of having children in the home and gun owners' attitudes and beliefs.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This cross-sectional survey study analyzed data from the National Lawful Use of Guns Survey conducted in 2019. A representative sample of 3698 adult gun owners nationwide were randomly invited to participate, with a 56.5% survey response rate. Survey responses were weighted to account for survey nonresponse and selection bias, and comparison groups were matched by age. Statistical analysis was performed in 2020.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Reasons for gun ownership, symbolic meaning of guns, and attitudes toward gun policies.

RESULTS

Of the 2086 respondents, 383 (18.4%) had children in the home, 68.7% (95% CI, 66.4%-71.0%) were male, 8.2% (95% CI, 6.8%-9.7%) were Black, 76.3% (95% CI, 73.8%-78.6%) were White, 79.4% (95% CI, 77.5%-81.2%) were living in metropolitan areas, 51.3% (95% CI, 48.9%-53.8%) identified as Republican; 34.7% (95% CI, 32.6%-36.9%) were aged 60 years or older. Despite the majority of respondents feeling safe in their local communities (respondents with children: 93.4% [95% CI,: 89.3%-96.0%]; without children: 88.9% [95% CI, 87.0%- 90.6%]), 92.3% (95% CI, 87.0%-95.6%) of respondents with children stated the primary reason for gun ownership was to protect their family, compared with 68.6% (95% CI, 65.2%-71.8%) of respondents without children. On logistic regression analysis, having children in the home remained an independent factor associated with reasons for gun ownership. Gun owners with children were more likely than those without children to feel that guns make them feel more valuable to their family (23.5% [95% CI, 18.9%-28.8%] vs 17.0% [95% CI, 15.0%-19.2%]). Among those with children, 35.2% (95% CI, 30.0%-40.8%) believed gun laws should be more strict compared with 40.7% (95% CI, 38.1%- 43.3%) of those without children.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

These findings suggest that acknowledging parental motivations for gun ownership is a pivotal component of educational efforts toward firearm injury prevention. These findings can guide clinicians to engage in effective individual counseling and community level efforts to reduce pediatric gun injuries.

Who owns guns and how do they keep them? The influence of household characteristics on firearms ownership and storage practices in the United States

Our paper aims to describe firearm-related behavior among American households and to quantify the influence of household characteristics on the probability of firearms possession and storage practices. Applying logistic regression techniques to data from the 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS), we use separate models to estimate the effect of an array of respondent demographic characteristics factors on the likelihood that households will have a gun at home and, if so, whether they will keep it at either of two levels of risk. We find that rates of firearm ownership vary widely by household characteristics, including the state in which they reside. Simultaneously controlling for all of these factors scarcely diminishes variation in odds for ownership. Differences in the likelihood that owners will store guns unsafely are narrower and significant for fewer factors. Having children in the home scarcely affects the propensity to possess firearms but greatly reduces the chances a domestic firearm will be stored loaded and unsecured. Our findings support a consensus on the demographics of ownership but show more and stronger predictors of storage behavior than previous work. Differing dynamics of ownership and storage reveal the existence of two regional gun cultures. From these findings, we conclude that to mitigate mortality risks associated with guns in the home, encouraging safer storage by owners may be as effective as controlling sales. States and localities should test a range of promising but largely unproven interventions.

Alcohol use and change over time in firearm safety among families with young children

BACKGROUND

Improperly stored firearms pose a clear health risk to children. Previous research concurrently links alcohol use with lower levels of firearm safety. The objectives of this study were to assess (1) how families move from unsafe to safer firearm storage practices and (2) how parental drinking was associated with moving away from unsafe firearm storage practices.

METHODS

This study used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, 2003 when children were two years old and again when they were four years old. Parents were asked about firearm storage practices, alcohol consumption, and information to measure other confounding variables. Their responses were used to identify families who engaged in unsafe firearm storage practices (n = 650) during the initial testing period and to assess how alcohol consumption and other variables were associated with moving to safer firearm storage practices at the second testing period.

RESULTS

Families grew more likely to adopt safer firearm storage practices as their children aged, compared with continuing unsafe practices. Multivariate logistic regressions indicated that parental drinking, however, reduced the likelihood that parents moved to safer storage practices, controlling for covariates. Other families- and community-level variables, in particular, family structure, were also associated with the likelihood of moving to safer firearm storage behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS

Families with higher levels of alcohol use may need additional assistance in addressing firearm safety. The findings call for future research to better understand how physicians can counsel at-risk families to help them store firearms more securely.

Parents' Expectations of High Schools in Firearm Violence Prevention

Firearm violence remains a significant problem in the US (with 2787 adolescents killed in 2015). However, the research on school firearm violence prevention practices and policies is scant. Parents are major stakeholders in relation to firearm violence by youths and school safety in general. The purpose of this study was to examine what parents thought schools should be doing to reduce the risk of firearm violence in schools. A valid and reliable questionnaire was mailed to a national random sample of 600 parents who had at least one child enrolled in a public secondary school (response rate = 47%). Parents perceived inadequate parental monitoring/rearing practices (73%), peer harassment and/or bullying (58%), inadequate mental health care services for youth (54%), and easy access to guns (51%) as major causes of firearm violence in schools. The school policies perceived to be most effective in reducing firearm violence were installing an alert system in schools (70%), working with law enforcement to design an emergency response plan (70%), creating a comprehensive security plan (68%), requiring criminal background checks for all school personnel prior to hiring (67%), and implementing an anonymous system for students to report peer concerns regarding potential violence (67%). Parents seem to have a limited grasp of potentially effective interventions to reduce firearm violence.

Quality of consumer-targeted internet guidance on home firearm and ammunition storage

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Four storage practices protect against unintentional and/or self-inflicted firearm injury among children and adolescents: keeping guns locked (1) and unloaded (2) and keeping ammunition locked up (3) and in a separate location from the guns (4). Our aim was to mimic common Google search strategies on firearm/ammunition storage and assess whether the resulting web pages provided recommendations consistent with those supported by the literature.

METHODS

We identified 87 web pages by Google search of the 10 most commonly used search terms in the USA related to firearm/ammunition storage. Two non-blinded independent reviewers analysed web page technical quality according to a 17-item checklist derived from previous studies. A single reviewer analysed readability by US grade level assigned by Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Index. Two separate, blinded, independent reviewers analysed deidentified web page content for accuracy and completeness describing the four accepted storage practices. Reviewers resolved disagreements by consensus.

RESULTS

The web pages described, on average, less than one of four accepted storage practices (mean 0.2 (95% CL 0.1 to 0.4)). Only two web pages (2%) identified all four practices. Two web pages (2%) made assertions inconsistent with recommendations; both implied that loaded firearms could be stored safely. Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Index averaged 8.0 (95% CL 7.3 to 8.7). The average technical quality score was 7.1 (95% CL 6.8 to 7.4) out of an available score of 17. There was a high degree of agreement between reviewers regarding completeness (weighted κ 0.78 (95% CL 0.61 to 0.97)).

CONCLUSIONS

The internet currently provides incomplete information about safe firearm storage. Understanding existing deficiencies may inform future strategies for improvement.

Why do you keep them there? A qualitative assessment of firearms storage practices

Thousands of children are killed or injured each year in the United States after gaining access to firearms. Storage methods are inconsistent and influenced by various contextual factors in the home. We explored reasons underlying parents' choices of firearm storage. Thirty individuals were interviewed regarding firearm storage methods used in their homes and reasons for choosing those methods. Storage practices varied within and across households. Qualitative results suggested that storage practices were related to child presence and age, intended use of firearms, and perception of risk associated with potential access by unsafe individuals. Implications for injury prevention are discussed.