Most American Gun Owners Keep A Weapon Unlocked, Study Finds
BY Herschel Smith
1 year, 8 months ago
Researchers surveyed 2,000 firearm owners about how they stored their weapons for a study published in JAMA Network Open.
More than 58% of firearm owners stored at least one gun unlocked and hidden, while nearly 18% of firearms owners stored at least one firearm unlocked and unhidden, the study found.
The study found that gun safes were the locking device most commonly used among firearm owners, rather than other locking mechanisms researchers examined, like cable locks and trigger locks.
Nearly 50% of respondents who didn’t lock their firearms said locks are unnecessary, while more than 44% of respondents said that locks would prevent quick access in an emergency.
Researchers said the findings of the study suggest that increasing the use of secure storage among firearm owners may require increasing access to safes, calming fears about how quickly firearms owners could access their weapons in emergencies and elucidating the risks with unlocked firearms.
They act like this is some sort of great revelation, something worthy of an article or a “study.” I could have told them that, almost down to the numbers. In fact, I suspect these numbers are a bit low.
It’s a revelation to them that if you put a lock on a firearm or store it away in a safe, it’s not accessible to you in exigent circumstances. You know, exigent circumstances – the time when you are most likely to need that firearm.
What good is a firearm if it’s locked?
Sure, it might be a great idea to lock them away with small children in the home, and there are biometric safes for that, but we oppose efforts to legally mandate such things. The FedGov isn’t God, regardless of how much they want to be.
On March 3, 2023 at 1:48 pm, PJ said:
Most studies are intended to have a predetermined outcome, and function primarily as excuses for legislation. Especially those from crap institutions like JAMA.
On March 3, 2023 at 6:35 pm, Archer said:
Sounds like the doctors at the Journal of the American Medical Association need to be reminded to stay in their lane.
They are doctors. They are not firearm experts, self-defense experts, or defense attorneys. They can run polls and show statistics, but any conclusion or policy recommendation is so far outside their wheelhouse, it should be rejected from the get-go.
Even if they get it right — which they never do because they have an agenda to push — they may as well be polling car owners and telling us what the best fuel-air ratios are for peak power and efficiency, without consulting actual auto mechanics. Or giving legal advice without consulting attorneys. It’s not their area of expertise so their opinion means nothing.
On March 4, 2023 at 9:58 am, Latigo Morgan said:
When my kids were big enough to hold one, I taught them how to shoot a handgun and the safety rules that went with firearms handling. They had to recite the rules to me every day before bedtime and before handling any firearms. If they wanted to look at a gun, all they had to do was ask me.
Common sense keeping the loaded guns out of reach of the babies and others unloaded that could not be put out of reach made sure we never had any accidents in the house. Never have I put a lock on a firearm that was intended for emergency use.
Somehow, I wound up with two cases of “Project Child Safe” cable gun locks. I think the fire department was throwing them out because nobody wanted them.
There was an incident in the 90’s in Kalifornia where some kids got murdered by a lunatic with a pitchfork because when the parents left them alone with their big sister, they locked all the guns in the gun safe. The girl got away to a neighbor to beg for them to either give her a gun or come help them. It was a very sad story.
On March 4, 2023 at 11:06 pm, JB said:
It took a study to reveal the obvious. A heater thats locked up insures its owner will more likely be cold meat.