Radio Commentary
More than 22 million U.S. children
live in homes with firearms.
In 43 percent of those homes, the
guns are not locked up or fitted with trigger locks, according to a national
survey.
The study, reported in the "American
Journal of Public Health," analyzed gun storage practices in six thousand
nine hundred households with children.
The study found that nine percent
of homes keep firearms unlocked, and loaded. Those homes represent 1.7 million
children.
Another 4% of the homes have guns
that are unlocked and have ammunition nearby.
That means that about 2.6 million
children had firearms stored in a way most accessible to children, said the
study.
Researchers found that many parents
know guns should be locked up but there is a disconnect between knowledge and
action.
They may think the top shelf of a
closet or a sock drawer is secure. But children are notoriously curious and may
find them anyway.
Experts say parents should look at
their own firearm storage and ask pointed questions about weapons at their
friends' homes as well.
This is one area where it’s not
possible to be too cautious.
