New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that of households with firearms, close to half store them unsafely.
The report, which was released in June, states that secure firearm storage might help reduce access by children and the related risk for injury or death.
In the United States, unintentional injury is currently the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 17, with firearms as a leading method of injury, according to the CDC.
“This is an issue that can be prevented just by securing the firearms properly and ensuring that they are kept out of the children’s reach,” says Det. Trae Corbin.
Corbin is a Baltimore County Police Department public information officer.
Baltimore’s Child spoke with Corbin to learn about how parents can protect their families by storing firearms safely and teaching their children what to do if they encounter an unsecured firearm.
Where do unintentional shootings happen?
A 2023 CDC report stated that half of unintentional firearm injury deaths among children and adolescents occurred in the home. These deaths most commonly took place while children were playing with the firearm or showing the firearm to another person.
Hiding a firearm in a closet, drawer or similar location is not safe storage, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Parents should use a combination of safeguards like trigger or cable locks, safes or lock boxes and disassembly to prevent children from accessing firearms.
Safe storage doesn’t just protect people in the home—it also protects people in your community.
“If you have a break-in, that firearm can be stolen from your household and used in another crime,” Corbin says.
How can parents prevent unintentional shootings?
While the first step to preventing unintentional shootings is securing the firearms in the family home, parents should talk to their children about what to do if they encounter a firearm outside of the home.
Corbin says parents should make sure their children know that if they see a firearm lying around outside that they should not play with it or touch it, and they should tell a proper adult. Children might also encounter unsecured firearms when visiting the home of a friend or a relative. That’s why it’s important to make sure children understand that firearms are not a toy.
Another option for parents is to store firearms away from the home in a safe storage location. Gun shops, shooting ranges, police departments and some specialized storage facilities may offer this service.
Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence keeps an updated map of temporary voluntary firearm storage options on its website at mdpgv.org.
What are the laws about firearm storage around children?
In Maryland, criminal law code 4-104 states that a person may not store or leave a loaded firearm in a location where the person knew or should have known that an unsupervised child (younger than 16) would gain access to the firearm.
There are exceptions to this law; for example, if the child’s access to a firearm is supervised by an adult.
Parents can find an easy to digest outline of Maryland’s gun laws online through Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence at mdpgv.org.
Safe Storage Checklist
The following safe storage checklist was compiled through a combination of Det. Trae Corbin’s guidance and information from the U.S. Department of Justice.
- Use a safe and locking device that prevents firing. These devices include trigger locks and cable locks. Trigger locks fit through the trigger to prevent it from being pulled, while cable locks are threaded through the magazine well, chamber or barrel to prevent a cartridge from being moved into position.
- Store your firearm unloaded.
- Store ammunition away from the firearm in another locked location.
- Keep the locked and unloaded firearm in a place where children younger than 18 cannot access it. Using a safe that is too large for one person to move or a safe that is permanently mounted can decrease the risk of theft.
- Follow the above steps with every firearm.
Parents can find an in-depth guide to various firearm safety devices and their use online at whitehouse.gov.
