A survey of 96 pediatrician's offices in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico found one-quarter of 3,754 families had a gun in in the home. In 70% of those homes parents said they hadn't taken "adequate precautions" to store their firearm safely. These are parents who like to live on the edge. I guess?
The study suggested pediatricians take a role in promoting gun safety in homes by asking parents if there are guns in the home and if they are stored safely in the same way they ask if your child rides in a car seat. 18 states have child-access protection laws which make parents or other adults liable when an accident or death occurs from a child finding an unsecured gun.
The study defined "safe storage" as "guns being unloaded, locked in a cabinet or with a gun lock, with ammunition stored separately". I wonder how many parents have their guns locked but not unloaded or unloaded, but not locked and that affected the high number of supposedly 'unsafe' homes the study found. I don't own a gun and have no plans to ever own a gun, however it seems to me that the main reason one has a gun is for protection. If the gun is unloaded and locked and the ammunition is stored elsewhere how do you get to it quickly in a crisis situation? I know people can be really stupid but I can't believe over half of parents in the study would purposely put their kids at risk.
For gun safety information see The Brady Center To Prevent Gun Violence.
