According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), firearms are now the leading cause of death in American children and teens.¹ One of the reasons for this is that children and teenagers have access to guns in their homes. An estimated 4.6 million children in the U.S. live in a household with at least one loaded and unlocked gun.² More than 80 percent of child gun suicides involve a gun belonging to a family member,³ and in its 2021 report on school violence, the U.S. Secret Service identifies easy access to firearms in the home as one of the key aggravating factors that lead to gun violence in schools.⁴

One of the strategic goals for LWSD is to "provide safe and innovative learning environments." Our commitment to safety urges us to share with you an evidence-based method to prevent firearm tragedies among children and teens: secure firearm storage. A study on secure firearm storage practices showed that households that lock both firearms and ammunition have an 85% lower risk of unintentional firearm injuries and a 78% lower risk of self-inflicted firearm injuries among children and teenagers compared to households that locked neither.⁵
 

Experts agree that secure firearm storage means making sure guns are always inaccessible to children and teenagers and it involves three steps: unload firearms, lock firearms and store firearms and ammunition separately.⁶

Unload: Gun owners should remove all ammunition from the firearm, including removing any chambered rounds. 

Lock: Unloaded firearms should be secured with a firearm locking device, such as a jacket lock, or in a locked location, like a safe or lock box. Locking devices, safes and lock boxes are equipped with keys, combinations or biometric technology that limit access. Remember: Firearm locks do not prevent gun theft. 

Separate: Ammunition should be stored separately from the firearm in a secure location.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) concludes that the absence of guns from homes is the most reliable and effective measure to prevent suicide, homicide and unintentional firearm-related injuries to children and adolescents. But if there are guns in the home, AAP notes that storing guns unloaded and locked, with ammunition kept in a separate place, can mitigate the risk of child firearm injury.⁷

There are options when purchasing secure gun storage devices from simple gun locks to biometric safes. Some local law enforcement agencies will send a free gun lock to residents who request it (Kirkland Police Department offers this service). Safes and other storage devices are available at local sporting goods stores or gun stores. Here is a snapshot of some of the storage devices on the market:

Talk about guns safety to your children

For young children, tell them not to touch a gun if they see one and to tell an adult right away. Assure them that they will not get into trouble. 

For adolescents, tell them to leave any situation where an unsecured gun is present and give them strategies to get out of that situation. Assure them it is OK to ask about unsecured guns in other homes but offer to do it for them if they don’t feel comfortable.

Be diligent

Remember that if you have a gun in your home, talking to your children about gun safety is not enough - always practice secure firearm storage. Hiding a gun is not considered secure storage. One study showed that 41 percent of adolescents in gun-owning households report they have "easy access" to the guns in their homes.⁸ Unloading, locking then separating guns from ammunition as outlined here is considered secure storage.

Ask about guns in other homes

Another important component to gun safety in our community is to ask about gun storage practices in other homes. This can be part of your typical safety conversation with another family. An example would be when asking if a family has a car seat for your child or making them aware of a child’s allergies, you can also ask about the presence of guns in the home and if the family practices secure storage.

(1)
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmc2201761

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/14/magazine/gun-violence-children-data-statistics.html#:~:text=When%20researchers%20at%20the%20Kaiser,of%20all%20child%20gun%20deaths.

https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/issue-brief/child-and-teen-firearm-mortality-in-the-u-s-and-peer-countries/

(2) Matthew Miller and Deborah Azrael, “Firearm Storage in US Households with Children: Findings from the 2021 National Firearm Survey,” JAMA Network Open 5, no. 2 (2022): e2148823.

(3) Renee M. Johnson et al., “Who Are the Owners of Firearms Used in Adolescent Suicides?” Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior 40, no. 6, (2010): 609–11.

(4) U.S. Department of Homeland Security & U.S. Secret Service, National Threat Assessment Center, “2021 Averting Targeted School Violence, A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Plots Against Schools,” March 2021. https://www.secretservice.gov/protection/ntac 

https://www.secretservice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2021-03/USSS%20Averting%20Targeted%20School%20Violence.2021.03.pdf

(5) David C. Grossman et al., “Gun Storage Practices and Risk of Youth Suicide and Unintentional Firearm Injuries,” JAMA 293, no. 6 (2005): 707–14, https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.293.6.707.

(6) United States Government Accountability Office (GAO). Report to congressional requesters. Personal firearms: programs that promote safe storage and research on their effectiveness. September 2017. https://bit.ly/2Xk1yeG.

(7) Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention Executive Committee. Firearm-related injuries affecting the pediatric population. American Academy of Pediatrics. 2012;130(5):e1416-e1423.

(8) Joseph A. Simonetti et al, “Psychiatric Comorbidity, Suicidality, and in-Home Firearm Access Among a Nationally Representative Sample of Adolescents,” JAMA Psychiatry 72, no 2(2015):152-59.