Guns that are stored safely are less likely to used to commit suicide or to cause accidental injury, especially in children and adolescents.
Safe gun storage practices:
(1) The gun is kept in a locked location or with an extrinsic lock (on the trigger, etc.)
(2) The gun is stored unloaded.
(3) The gun and ammunition are stored separately.
(4) The ammunition is stored in a locked location.
Each of these practices reduced the risk of serious injury from gun misuse.
Comments:
(1) There are different levels of locked gun storage. The optimum locked storage is a gun safe with a secret combination.
(2) For guns that are not in a locked location, the risk would depend on how accessible the guns were. Guns left lying around or within easy reach are more likely to be misused than guns that are very difficult to reach.
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