Injury Prevention and Guns

BrooklynDodger hears the argument for gun possession being self protection.

CDC investigators concluded that persons with guns in the home were at about twice the greater risk of dying from a homicide in the home than those without guns in the home. Suicide risk was much greater. The risk of dying of a firearm homicide at home was 16 fold for persons 35 and older with a firearm in the home compared to those without. The risk of dying from a suicide in the home was 10 times greater for males in homes with guns than for males without guns in the home. Regardless of storage practice, type of gun, or number of firearms in the home, having a gun in the home was associated with an increased risk of firearm homicide and firearm suicide in the home. Homicide victims were mostly male, less than 35 years of age, and of racial or ethnic minority status. Suicide victims were predominately male, older, and non-Hispanic White.


Am J Epidemiol. 2004 Nov 15;160(10):929-36.

Guns in the home and risk of a violent death in the home: findings from a national study.

Dahlberg LL, Ikeda RM, Kresnow MJ.Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. ldahlberg@cdc.gov

Data from a US mortality follow-back survey were analyzed to determine whether having a firearm in the home increases the risk of a violent death in the home and whether risk varies by storage practice, type of gun, or number of guns in the home. Those persons with guns in the home were at greater risk than those without guns in the home of dying from a homicide in the home (adjusted odds ratio = 1.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 3.4). They were also at greater risk of dying from a firearm homicide, but risk varied by age and whether the person was living with others at the time of death. The risk of dying from a suicide in the home was greater for males in homes with guns than for males without guns in the home (adjusted odds ratio = 10.4, 95% confidence interval: 5.8, 18.9). Persons with guns in the home were also more likely to have died from suicide committed with a firearm than from one committed by using a different method (adjusted odds ratio = 31.1, 95% confidence interval: 19.5, 49.6). Results show that regardless of storage practice, type of gun, or number of firearms in the home, having a gun in the home was associated with an increased risk of firearm homicide and firearm suicide in the home.