Guns in homes with young kids are more often unsecured

Clinical takeaway: Ask parents how each firearm in the home is stored. Secure storage means that every gun is locked and unloaded. 

Unintentional firearm injuries are rising among children younger than six, and most involve a household firearm stored loaded and unlocked, the authors note. Handguns account for most unintentional firearm deaths in this age group, and the authors say they may be stored less securely than other firearm types. 

Families keep firearms for protection, recreation, or hunting. This survey of firearm-owning parents describes which firearm types they own, why they own them, and how they store them. It also compares storage by firearm type in the home. 

More than half of the parents reported storing at least one firearm loaded, unlocked, or both. Parents who owned only handguns reported secure storage, meaning every firearm locked and unloaded, more often than parents who owned both handguns and long guns. The rates were 41.5% versus 30.7%, which left both groups short of half. 

Protection was the most commonly cited reason for ownership, at 77%. More than 94% of parents reported owning a handgun, including 51% who owned handguns only and 44% who owned both types, the group that reported secure storage less often. 

This cross-sectional online survey drew 843 firearm-owning parents of children ages 1 to 5 from a national panel. Eligible parents were 18 or older, English-speaking, and living in a household with firearms. 

Storage messages could be tailored to a family's firearm types and reasons for owning, the authors suggest. They also propose recruiting families who already store securely to encourage other families with young children to follow their example. Homes with both handguns and long guns, which reported secure storage least often, are a good potential target for customized messaging. 

"We found that many children under age 5 live in homes where firearms are not stored securely," said Andrew Hashikawa, MD, MS, a clinical professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at the University of Michigan. "Families often own firearms to protect their loved ones, but leaving them unlocked can put young children at risk. Keeping every firearm locked and unloaded is an important part of keeping children safe." 

Source: Hashikawa A, et al. (2026 Oct 4) American Academy of Pediatrics 2026 National Conference & Exhibition. Handgun and Long Gun Ownership and Storage in Families With Young Children