A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that many gun owners with children under 17 years old keep their guns loaded and unlocked.
The study focused on data from eight states: Alaska, California, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oklahoma, instead of giving a national average.
Among these states, California had the lowest gun ownership rate at 18.4%, while Alaska had the highest at 50.6%. The study showed that between 19.5% and 43.2% of gun owners in these states keep their guns loaded, with those having children being slightly less likely to do so compared to gun owners without children.
In most states, a majority of gun owners who keep their guns loaded also leave them unlocked, according to the study. For instance, 25.2% of gun owners in Ohio with loaded guns keep them unlocked, while in Alaska, 41.4% of parents with minor children do the same.
The CDC emphasized that “secure firearm storage is associated with lower risk for firearm injuries” and suggested that secure storage practices could reduce the risk of firearm-related injuries and deaths, especially among children and youth.
The study utilized data from the 2021 and 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey.
Last year, a CDC report highlighted that unintentional injuries were the leading cause of death among children, with firearms being a significant factor. It also noted that firearms involved in unintentional child deaths were stored loaded 74% of the time and unlocked 76% of the time.
