WASHINGTON (TND) — New research provides insight into how Americans store their weapons at home. According to a study published by the CDC, up to 43% of U.S. 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 have multiple firearms in the house but they’re in a safe.
“Everything is locked away in there,” Rienstra said.
For safety reasons, she said all of their guns are stored and unloaded, not just to protect her son, but also herself and her husband.
You never want to accidentally go through your bedside table or wherever you keep it and accidentally hit a trigger,” Rienstra said.
National Police Association Spokesperson Betsy Brantner Smith believes safe firearm storage is situational.
Depending on who is in the household and who has control of that firearm,” Brantner Smith said.
According to The American Academy of Pediatrics, 16 states and DC already have laws requiring guns to be stored and locked up. Something the Rienstra family agrees with, along with education.
“It was always really important to my husband and myself obviously that they are taught gun safety from the start,” said Rienstra.
Aside from gun safes, there are other types of secure storage options like cable locks, trigger locks and lock boxes.