A loaded gun, unlocked, in a house with a child

Secure firearm storage is associated with lower risk of firearm injuries.
This survey measured how much of it actually happens, using the Behavioral
Risk Factor Surveillance System across eight states.

What it found

Between a quarter and two fifths. A loaded firearm, unlocked, in a household
with a child.

The ranges are the point

Neither figure is reported as a national average, and that is deliberate.
Firearm ownership ranges from under a fifth of households to over half between
these eight states — and unlocked storage among the highest-risk households
varies by sixteen percentage points.

**State and demographic variation in storage practices highlights the
importance of tailored prevention activities.**

A national safe-storage message pitched at the average describes nowhere. A
state where half of households have a firearm needs a different programme —
and a different tone — from one where a fifth do.

What the prevention is aimed at

**Reducing handling of guns by children and youths without adult supervision,
and by other unauthorised persons.**

That framing keeps the subject narrow and practical. This is not a page about
whether to own a firearm; it is about the lock, in the houses where one is
already loaded and a child already lives.

*Source: Friar NW, Merrill-Francis M, Parker EM, Siordia C, Simon TR. Firearm
Storage Behaviors — Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Eight States,
2021–2022. MMWR, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.*