Up to 43% of American households store loaded guns, study finds

WASHINGTON (DT) — New research provides insight into how Americans store their guns at home. According to a study published by the CDC, up to 43% of American households store loaded guns and half of those households do not put them in locked containers.

Households in eight states were surveyed for the study. North Carolina, Oklahoma and Nevada had the highest rates of households storing loaded guns.

Amanda Rienstra and her husband live in New Jersey with their 16-month-old son. Rienstra said they had several guns in the house, but they were in a safe.

“Everything is locked in there,” Rienstra said.

For safety reasons, she said all their weapons were stored and unloaded, not only to protect her son, but also herself and her husband.

You never want to accidentally walk across your nightstand or wherever you store it and accidentally pull a trigger,” Rienstra said.

National Police Association spokeswoman Betsy Brantner Smith believes safe gun storage is situational.

It depends on who’s in the house and who controls that gun,” Brantner Smith said.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 16 states and D.C. already have laws requiring guns to be stored and locked. It's something the Rienstra family agrees with, as does education.

“It has always been very important to my husband and I that they be taught about gun safety from the beginning,” Rienstra said.

Besides gun safes, there are other types of secure storage options like cable locks, trigger locks, and safes.