American gun owners store their weapons unsafely, new report says

Many gun owners in the United States, including those with young children, leave a loaded and unsecured firearm at home, according to a new report from the Center for Disease Control.

The report surveyed U.S. gun owners in eight states and found that about half kept a gun unlocked and loaded in their home.

Firearms stored at home are attributed to higher rates of homicides and suicides among household members, the report said.

It also states that guns are the leading cause of death in the United States among people under 20.

The CDC surveyed gun owners in Alaska, California, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Ohio.

Gun ownership was highest in Alaska, where 50.6 percent of respondents reported keeping a gun in or around their home.

The CDC report, which looked at data from 2021 to 2022, said gun homicide rates declined “slightly” but remained above pre-pandemic levels.

The report also notes that gun suicide rates have increased since 2019. They are now at the highest levels recorded since the CDC began tracking them in 1968.

“Storing a gun out of sight or out of reach is not safe gun storage,” study author Thomas Simon told the New York Times.

In the United States, parents may face legal difficulties in allowing their children to have access to firearms.

In April, the parents of a Michigan teenager who fatally shot four students were each sentenced to more than 10 years in prison.

James and Jennifer Crumbley, who bought their son the gun he used at his school, were the first parents of a US mass shooter to be convicted and sentenced.