ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION Gun Storage Practices and Risk of Youth Suicide and Unintentional Firearm Injuries

THE PRESENCE OF A HOUSEHOLDfirearm is associatedwith an in-creased risk of suicide amongadults and adolescents.1-6 In a study of suicide attempters and com-pleters, investigators found that 75 % of the guns were stored in the residence of the victim, friend, or relative.7 The public health importance of house-hold firearms is a function both of the relative risk of exposure and the preva-lence of firearms in the environment of children and adolescents.8 Schuster et al9 estimated from the National Health Interview Survey that 35 % of homes in theUnited Stateswith children younger than 18 years reported owning at least 1 firearm, and that 43 % of these homes had at least 1 unlocked firearm. Re-ports from other surveys have derived similar estimates of the fraction of the population at risk from unlocked household firearms.10 Unloading and locking all guns and ammunition in the home can poten-tially reduceaccess togunsbyyouth.The policy issue of safe storage of firearms, both in legislative and clinical ap-For editorial comment see p 740. Author Affiliations are listed at the end of this article