Rutgers Health researchers have found that parents who actively teach their children how to handle or shoot firearms are more likely to store loaded guns in unsecured locations. “Some parents may believe that modeling responsible firearm use negates the need for secure storage,” said Jennifer Paruk, the study’s lead author and a postdoctoral researcher at the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at the Rutgers School of Public Health. “But storing firearms securely is a part of firearm safety.”
The study in JAMA Pediatrics surveyed 870 parents in nine states, including New Jersey, with diverse firearm policies and ownership rates. The researchers asked about firearm safety practices with children and gun storage habits, then analyzed the relationship between these behaviors, controlling for factors such as location and firearm type.
“We know that if kids can access firearms inside the home, that increases the risk for child suicide and unintentional firearm deaths,” Paruk said. “Storing firearms securely – locked up, unloaded, and separate from ammunition – is associated with decreased risk of firearm injury and death for kids.” Firearm-related injuries have become the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the United States, surpassing motor vehicle crashes. A 2022 New England Journal of Medicine study reported that gun-related deaths among people younger than 20 nearly doubled from 2013 to 2020. To read the full story.