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 four percent of
the homes have guns that are unlocked and have ammunition nearby.
That means that about
2.6 million homes had firearms stored in a way most accessible to children, according
to 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.
