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Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy

Safe Gun Storage

Safe gun storage refers to practices that limit accessibility to guns by unauthorized users and has the potential to reduce gun-related injuries and deaths.

Safe storage best practices include locking guns in a secure place such as a gun safe or cabinet or using safety devices such as trigger or cable locks.  Research has demonstrated decreased risk for suicide among adolescents when guns are stored safely, and states with child access prevention laws that require guns to be stored in a safe manner have lower rates of adolescent suicide.

Key Statistic

More than half of all U.S. gun owners do not report storing all of their guns safely. Slightly more than half, or 55 percent, of gun owners with children under 18 reported storing all of their guns safely.

“Communicating with gun owners about the importance of safe storage is a challenging opportunity. If we are successful at improving storage practices among gun owners, particularly those with children in the home, we could reduce risks for gun violence and injury.”

– Cassandra Crifasi, Center Deputy Director

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