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State Gun Safe Storage Laws and Child Mortality Due to Firearms

State Gun Safe Storage Laws and Child Mortality Due to Firearms Context. —Since 1989, several states have passed laws that make gun owners criminally liable if someone is injured because a child gains unsupervised access to a gun. These laws are controversial, and their effect on firearm-related injuries is unknown. Objective. —To determine if state laws that require safe storage of firearms are associated with a reduction in child mortality due to firearms. Design. —Anecological study of firearm mortality from 1979 through 1994. Setting. —All 50 states and the District of Columbia. Participants. —All children younger than 15 years. Main Outcome Measures. —Unintentional deaths, suicides, and homicides due to firearms. Results. —Laws that make gun owners responsible for storing firearms in a manner that makes them inaccessible to children were in effect for at least 1 year in 12 states from 1990 through 1994. Among children younger than 15 years, unintentional shooting deaths were reduced by 23% (95% confidence interval, 6%37%) during the years covered by these laws. This estimate was based on withinstate comparisons adjusted for national trends in unintentional firearm-related mortality. Gun-related homicide and suicide showed modest declines, but these were not statistically significant. conclusions. —State safe storage laws intended to make firearms less accessible to children appear to prevent unintentional shooting deaths among children younger than 15 years. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png JAMA American Medical Association

State Gun Safe Storage Laws and Child Mortality Due to Firearms

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Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/DFARS Restrictions Apply to Government Use.
ISSN
0098-7484
eISSN
1538-3598
DOI
10.1001/jama.1997.03550130058037
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Context. —Since 1989, several states have passed laws that make gun owners criminally liable if someone is injured because a child gains unsupervised access to a gun. These laws are controversial, and their effect on firearm-related injuries is unknown. Objective. —To determine if state laws that require safe storage of firearms are associated with a reduction in child mortality due to firearms. Design. —Anecological study of firearm mortality from 1979 through 1994. Setting. —All 50 states and the District of Columbia. Participants. —All children younger than 15 years. Main Outcome Measures. —Unintentional deaths, suicides, and homicides due to firearms. Results. —Laws that make gun owners responsible for storing firearms in a manner that makes them inaccessible to children were in effect for at least 1 year in 12 states from 1990 through 1994. Among children younger than 15 years, unintentional shooting deaths were reduced by 23% (95% confidence interval, 6%37%) during the years covered by these laws. This estimate was based on withinstate comparisons adjusted for national trends in unintentional firearm-related mortality. Gun-related homicide and suicide showed modest declines, but these were not statistically significant. conclusions. —State safe storage laws intended to make firearms less accessible to children appear to prevent unintentional shooting deaths among children younger than 15 years.

Journal

JAMA – American Medical Association

Published: Oct 1, 1997

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