Safe Storage Options for Loaded Guns

In some cases, a gun owner may wish to keep a firearm loaded to have quick access if needed for protection. In other cases, a gun owner may keep a firearm loaded unnecessarily or for no compelling reason. In either case, one should know that a loaded gun in the home is more likely to be involved in the unintentional shooting of a family member or friend than to be used for self-defense against an intruder.

Approximately 20,000 children with gunshot wounds are seen in U.S. emergency rooms each year. An estimated 2 million children and teenagers under the age of 18 live in homes where guns are kept both loaded and unlocked. When a gun is kept in the home, the risk of death from suicide, homicide or an unintentional shooting increases.

While the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association have recommended that guns be stored both unloaded and locked away, the gun owner who has decided to keep his or her gun loaded will need to consider and implement other safety measures. It is important to know that some states have laws with specific requirements for storing a gun (either loaded or unloaded) in a home.

When deciding on a safe way to keep a loaded gun in your home, there are two important questions to consider:

1) How easy would it be for a child, teenager or other occupant of the home to have access to the gun?

2) How easy would it be for a burglar to find the gun if he or she was searching for valuables in your home?

If a gun owner intends to keep a gun loaded for protection, then he or she needs to consider a safe way of storing the gun that allows for quick access. While gun safes, lock boxes and attachable gun locks are not designed for use with a loaded gun in most cases, a gun owner who keeps a gun loaded in the home can reduce the risk of a gun injury or death by following either of these recommendations:

1) Store the loaded gun in a locked desk, storage cabinet or other furniture item that contains a lock. The furniture item should not be something that a person could easily pick up and carry away. Consider the safest place to keep the keys to the lock.

2) Store the loaded gun in a locked room such as a bedroom, closet or home office. Be sure that the lock on the door is a type of lock that is not easily breached. While a gun that is stored in a locked room certainly reduces risk, consider a second layer of safety by storing the gun in a way that it is not openly visible or easily accessed by a child or an intruder. For instance, a loaded gun in a locked room can be stored in a furniture item that contains a hidden shelf or compartment, or in some type of diversion product such as a diversion book safe. Most diversion products are equipped with locks.

A thorough internet search should produce a variety of diversion products that are readily available. While diversion book safes are relatively inexpensive, other diversion products can be much higher in cost. It is important to note that use of a diversion product alone is not necessarily a safe situation.

A gun owner who wants to have quick access may also want to consider an alternative to storing a loaded gun. Some gun safes and lock boxes are actually designed for quick access and some of these products can be bolted down to decrease the possibility of theft. A gun owner could keep both an unloaded gun and its ammunition in the same gun safe or lock box. Another option would be to store the ammunition in a separate location that is nearby and preferably secure.

One should carefully consider the best place to keep the storage unit and its keys as well as any other devices that are used to access the unit if applicable. While gun safes and lock boxes are often sold at local gun stores or sporting goods retail establishments, some safety product distributors also supply gun safety devices.