Men, Women Disagree on Number of Guns at Home

Family and gun possession

Many couples with small children living at home disagree not only about how they have firearms stored but also about the number and types of guns they possess, a new study shows.

The study suggests that because of those firearm knowledge and reporting differences, which reflect a form of gender gap, gun safety counseling should be provided at hardware and home improvement stores, workplaces, shooting ranges, sporting events and other places men are likely to go, researchers say.

"That's because men are more likely to be the gun owners, and they are the ones most often responsible for storing weapons," said Dr. Tamera Coyne-Beasley of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Offering this counseling only in clinical settings such as doctors' offices is likely to be less effective for improving firearm storage practices and creating safer homes since mothers are the ones usually taking their children to the doctor."

Coyne-Beasley, associate professor of pediatrics and internal medicine at the UNC School of Medicine, and colleagues conducted the investigation to learn whether men and women differed in their reports of gun ownership and storage practices.

Overall, the goal was to limit youth's unauthorized access to firearms