Locking up firearms—although imperfect—can reduce gun-related deaths, injuries

Many products used to store or secure guns are poorly made and easy to break into, and standards for gun safe security are inadequate, according to experts.

A September 27, 2019 Undark article described how some gun safes can be opened simply by jiggling the lock with a coffee stirrer or a piece of tape, or even bumping the product so that it pops open. There are no national mandatory standards for gun-securing products. A handful of states do have standards, such as California, and many makers of gun safes or locking devices aim to meet that state’s requirements. Yet those standards are out-of-date, according to the article.

In spite of questions about the quality of gun locks and lockers, locking all firearms in a household can result in significant reductions in firearm suicide and unintentional firearm fatalities, according to a recent study from researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Northeastern University. Deborah Azrael, director of research at the Harvard Injury Control Research Center and one of the study authors, told Undark that it’s hard for people to accept the evidence that a gun is far more likely to injure a family or friend than an intruder.

She added, “The best way to be safe is not to have a gun in your house.”

Read the Undark article: For Gun Locks and Safes, Lax Oversight and Lousy Design

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