Love our kids, lock your guns - A community-based firearm safety counseling and gun lock distribution program

Author: Coyne-Beasley, T. / Schoenbach, V. J. / Johnson, R. M.
Publication: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
Topics: Age Group Education/Counseling Storage
Keywords: Community firearm safety counseling gun lock gun storage
Bibliographic information +

To find out whether firearm safety counseling and gun lock distribution improve gun storage practices, 112 gun-owning adults were recruited through a mass media advertising campaign and asked to complete a survey. They were then provided with tailored gun safety counseling, firearm safety information, a gun lock and instructions on how to use it. Firearm storage practices were assessed 6 months later. Of the 82 participants successfully contacted for follow-up, 77% (up from 48%) reported storing their gun(s) in a locked compartment, 72% (up from 0) reported storing their ammunitions in a separate location, 72% (up from 63%) reported storing their gun(s) unloaded, and 7% (down from 18%) reported storing firearms unlocked and loaded. The authors suggested that longer follow-up, verification of self-reports and correct use, testing of gun locks, and monitoring of firearm injury rates after distribution programs were needed to establish the public health potential of this approach.