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Firearm Storage and Firearm Suicide.
Matthew Miller1, Joeseph Wertz2, Sonja A Swanson3
1Department of Public Health and Health Sciences, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts.
JAMA Network Open
|July 7, 2025
Summary
For adults, locking or unloading firearms did not affect suicide method. However, adolescents who died by firearm suicide were more likely to live in homes with unlocked firearms, suggesting a need to focus on firearm access for suicide prevention.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Criminology
Background:
- Suicide-prevention strategies often include removing or securing firearms.
- Evidence supports firearm removal, but data on locking firearms for adults are inconsistent.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between firearm storage practices and suicide methods.
- To analyze these associations by sex and age group.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study using the 1993 National Mortality Followback Survey.
- Included decedents aged 15+ who died by suicide in homes with firearms.
- Analyzed unlocked/loaded firearms as exposures and suicide method as the outcome.
Main Results:
- Among adults, firearm locking/unloading was not associated with suicide method.
- Adolescents dying by firearm suicide were more likely to have lived in homes with unlocked firearms.
- No association was found between locked firearms and unloaded status for adolescents.
Conclusions:
- Firearm storage practices (locking/unloading) are not associated with adult suicide methods.
- Unsecured firearms in adolescent households were linked to firearm suicide.
- Suicide prevention for adults should prioritize firearm access over storage.
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