Trigger Locks Research Articles

Are medical societies developing a standard for gun injury prevention?

Context: Following heightened gun violence in the 1990s, many medical societies in the United States adopted policies on the topic. Objective: Identify points of firearm violence policy agreement among large...

Community based program to improve firearm storage practices in rural Alaska

Objective: To develop and evaluate a pilot program to reduce unauthorized access to firearms by youth by distributing gun safes and trigger locks to households. Design: Pilot intervention with pre/post-evaluation...

Handgun safety: what do consumers learn from gun dealers?

To explore the type and quality of handgun safety information a typical consumer would obtain from a licensed gun dealer. Semistructured, interactional on-site interviews were conducted with licensed handgun dealers in 2 metropolitan areas. A variety of dealers (gun shops, pawnshops, general merchandise stores, and sporting goods stores) were visited. Investigators posed as customers interested in buying a handgun. During the interview, investigators expressed concern that as the parent of a 4-year-old child, they needed suggestions about keeping their child safe with a gun in the home. Information collected included basic dealer demographics, opinions on whether a 4-year-old child could pull a handgun trigger, handgun safety advice and recommendations, and the type of safety devices and handgun safety educational materials that were available in the store. There were 96 visits made to gun dealers. The typical salesperson was a man who appeared to be older than 40 years. Trigger locks were the most common safety devices available. When asked what a consumer should know about purchasing a handgun, 85% of salespeople did not mention safe storage. Only 9 (9%) offered advice that included all of the following: keeping the gun securely locked, keeping the gun unloaded, and storing the gun separately from the ammunition. One third answered "no" or "don't know" or "uncertain" when asked if a 4-year-old could pull the trigger. The majority (92%) did not have any handgun safe storage educational materials on site. Salespeople offered potential buyers little or no education about safe storage of handguns. The information provided was often inconsistent with the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Firearm storage patterns in US homes with children.

This study determined the prevalence and storage patterns of firearms in US homes with children. We analyzed data from the 1994 National Health Interview Survey and Year 2000 objectives supplement. A multistage sample design was used to represent the civilian noninstitutionalized US population. Respondents from 35% of the homes with children younger than 18 years (representing more than 22 million children in more than 11 million homes) reported having at least 1 firearm. Among homes with children and firearms, 43% had at least 1 unlocked firearm (i.e., not in a locked place and not locked with a trigger lock or other locking mechanism). Overall, 9% kept firearms unlocked and loaded, and 4% kept them unlocked, unloaded, and stored with ammunition; thus, a total of 13% of the homes with children and firearms--1.4 million homes with 2.6 million children--stored firearms in a manner most accessible to children. In contrast, 39% of these families kept firearms locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition. Many children live in homes with firearms that are stored in an accessible manner. Efforts to prevent children's access to firearms are needed.

Handgun safety features: a review for physicians.

Handguns are a ubiquitous consumer product in the United States, which annually cause significant morbidity and mortality. Handgun safety devices are often proposed as potential solutions to this problem. Their effectiveness at reducing handgun injuries and deaths is intensely debated. However, to effectively analyze the potential utility of handgun safety devices, physicians need to be aware of the safety devices available in the consumer market and how they operate. A wide variety of safety devices are available in the consumer market, which vary in terms of their ease of operation, cost, and the types of injuries they may prevent. We reviewed several types of handgun safety devices, including loaded chamber indicators, manual thumb safeties, grip safeties, magazine disconnectors, drop safeties, built-in locks, trigger locks, lockboxes, and personalized handguns. Each device is described within the context of reducing unintended discharge and unauthorized use. This review is not exhaustive. There are other types of safety devices that limit access to handguns. Many of these devices, such as barrel locks and chamber locks, work in a similar manner as trigger locks and have the same limitations. The user of any type of safety device should think about the types of injuries the device is designed to prevent and be aware of its limitations. Physicians have the potential to reduce the risk of firearm injuries with their patients and communities. Providing accurate information on firearm safety devices and their limitations is important, just as it is for other aspects of health care advice. Armed with accurate information, physicians can hopefully be effective in firearm injury prevention.

Firearm ownership and storage practices in Pennsylvania homes.

To determine the household prevalence of firearms in Pennsylvania, and describe the storage practices for these weapons. A statewide telephone survey of 3,620 Pennsylvania adults selected from households by random digit dialing in 1994. Firearm ownership and storage practices were computed by household characteristics using logistic regression. The prevalence of firearm ownership was 37% (95% confidence interval = 35.4 to 38.6). Ownership of firearms was significantly higher for white residents, households with annual income of $20,000 or more, those in rural counties, and those with children and adolescents. Of the households with firearms, 23% contained a single firearm, the majority of which were handguns (40%) or rifles (40%); 76% had two or more firearms, with 57% reporting one handgun or more and 83% reporting one rifle or more. Storage of firearms in 72% of households involved two or more of these barriers: (1) taken apart; (2) trigger lock applied; (3) kept in a locked place; (4) unloaded; (5) no other ammunition; (6) locked ammunition; 6% stored at least one of their firearms with none of these barriers. The strongest predictor of storing a firearm with fewer than two protective barriers was households with no children or adolescents. Firearms are present in a large number of Pennsylvania homes. Many of these homes also contain children. To reduce the potential risks of firearms, optimal methods of storage of firearms in the home need to be determined.

Safe storage of handguns. What do the police recommend?

To ascertain the specific suggestions that local police departments in the United States give to parents who ask for advice about methods to safely store handguns. A cross-sectional, semistructured telephone survey was administered to a sample of 102 police departments in the United States in cities with populations of 10,000 or more, selected within blocks of cities of similar population size. An investigator, posing as a parent of 3-year-old and 10-year-old children, called departments seeking specific advice on how to safely store a handgun acquired for protection. Usable responses were generated for 93 (91%) of the departments sampled. Only 3 departments (3.2%) refused to give advice over the telephone. The most commonly suggested storage methods were trigger locks (55 departments [59%]), portable lockboxes for handguns (48 [52%]), and the separation of guns from ammunition (30 [32%]). Seven percent of departments suggested removing the gun from the household. Over half of those suggesting trigger locks and lockboxes considered these devices safe (35 [64%] for trigger locks and 27 [56%] for lockboxes) and yet rapidly accessible to an adult (36 [65%] for trigger locks and 36 [75%] for lockboxes). Responding police officers most commonly reported using the following storage methods at home: no storage method (31 [38%]), portable lockboxes (23 [28%]), out-of-reach location (11 [13%]), separation of gun and ammunition (10 [12%]), and trigger locks (5 [6%]). Trigger locks are frequently recommended but infrequently used by police themselves at home. Portable lockboxes are frequently recommended as well as used by police.

Unintentional, Nonfatal Firearm-Related Injuries

To describe the magnitude and characteristics of unintentional, nonfatal firearm-related injuries treated in US hospital emergency departments. Data were obtained from medical records for all firearm-related injury cases identified using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) from June 1, 1992, through May 31, 1994. We report on cases classified as unintentional gunshot wounds. NEISS comprises 91 hospitals that are a stratified probability sample of all hospitals in the United States and its territories that have at least 6 beds and provide 24-hour emergency service. Number of and population rates for unintentional, nonfatal firearm-related injuries. An estimated 34 485 (95% confidence interval [CI], 25 225-43 745) persons (6.7 per 100 000 population; 95% CI, 4.9-8.5) were treated for unintentional, nonfatal firearm-related injuries in US emergency departments during the 2-year study period. The majority of patients were male (87%) and aged 15 to 34 years (61%); 38% required hospitalization. Injuries were most often to an extremity (73%), were self-inflicted (70%), involved a handgun (57%), and resulted during common gun-related activities. Further development of effective interventions are needed to reduce the risk of injury from unintentional discharge of a firearm during routine gun-handling practices by those who own and use firearms. These injuries often occur during common gun-related activities such as gun cleaning, loading/unloading, hunting, target shooting, and showing, handling, or carrying. Studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of existing gun safety training courses and assess the potential role of various gun safety devices (eg, trigger locks and loading indicators) in future prevention strategies.

Trigger locks and firearm safety: One trauma center's prevention campaign

A t our a cademic urban, level I t r auma center, we are r e m i n d e d daily of the tragic af termath of f irearm-related injuries. Almost 67% of our pa t ien ts who are v ic t ims of intent ional , pene t r a t ing t r auma are injured by firearms. In early 1994, our staff b e g a n to concen t ra t e on fostering a c o m m u n i t y c o m m i t m e n t to firearm safety and responsible firearm ownership. It is e s t ima ted that 200 million firearms are owned by private ci t izens in this country. 1 Funct ional firearms are p resen t in nearly half of American households, and reports ind ica te tha t more t han 50% of g u n owners keep their firearms loaded. 2 Despite our legi t imate concern regard ing street violence, firearm dea ths are more likely to occur in a private res idence; the perpetrator is often a friend, relative, acqua in t ance , or the victim. 3 These facts p rompted our concern and val idated the need for a firearm preven t ion program geared to all age and soc ioeconomic groups. During the spr ing of 1994, our t r auma service init ia ted a program ent i t led Key to Firearm Safety, wh ich encouraged the use of tr igger locks as part of an overall focus on firearm safety. The two primary c o m p o n e n t s of the program were g u n safety educat ion and the supp lemen ta l use of tr igger locks. To create an incen t ive for g u n owners to incorporate firearm safety into their daily routine, we bel ieved that the promot ion of tr igger locks was a key e lement of the campaign . We b e g a n our search for an in teres ted retailer, wi th regional presence , tha t could assis t in the acquis i t ion, cost, and d is t r ibut ion of the tr igger locks. On the bas is of geographic distr ibution, h igh visibility in the market , and adver t ised c o m m i t m e n t to family values, we elected to approach Wal-Mart representa t ives (Wal-Mart, Bentonville, Ark.) and de te rmine their interest in cosponsoring the program. Fortunately, local Wal-Mart representatives (i.e., district management) were receptive and agreed to participate.

Unintentional Firearm Injuries: The Price of Protection

Firearms may provide a measure of self-protection, but they also yield tragic consequences. Although the rate of unintentional firearm deaths in the United States has declined steadily for the past 50 years, 1,500 people still die annually because of the unintentional discharge of firearms. Less is known about nonfatal injuries; powder firearms are estimated to injure 12,000 to 30,000 people annually, and nonpowder firearms are estimated to injure 19,500 to 34,500 people annually. Compared with other injury circumstances, unintentional firearm injuries disproportionately affect children younger than 15 years of age and men who injure themselves or other people. Injuries among children often occur in homes and are characterized by a lack of parental supervision and by ready access to loaded firearms. Potential primary prevention strategies include requiring design modifications, such as trigger locks and redundant safety devices; educating firearm owners, children’s caretakers, and health care providers about the risk of firearm injury and about prevention; and restricting children’s access to firearms.