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.
Instead of providing a national average, the study presented data from eight states: Alaska, California, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oklahoma.
Among these states, California had the lowest gun ownership rate at 18.4%, while Alaska had the highest at 50.6%. Depending on the state, between 19.5% and 43.2% of gun owners keep their guns loaded, with those having children being slightly less likely to do so compared to those without children.
The study found that in all states except one, the majority of gun owners who keep their guns loaded also leave them unlocked.
When considering households with children, 25.2% of gun owners in Ohio with loaded guns do not lock them, while in Alaska, 41.4% of parents with minor children keep their loaded guns unlocked.
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“Secure firearm storage is associated with lower risk for firearm injuries,” according to the CDC.
The study suggests that secure storage practices can reduce the risk of firearm-related injuries and deaths, especially among children and youth. Understanding the state- and demographic-specific variations in firearm storage behaviors can help governments and organizations develop targeted approaches to reduce firearm-related incidents.
The data for the study was collected from the 2021 and 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey.
Previous data released by CDC indicated that unintentional injuries were the leading cause of death in children, with firearms being a significant factor. The CDC noted that firearms involved in unintentional child deaths were loaded 74% of the time and unlocked 76% of the time.
