The Risks and Benefits of Having a Gun in the House

As a former Brit, I’ve had difficulty in coming to terms with the ready availability of handguns in the USA.  In my youth the cops never wore guns, though I guess this has changed a bit in the last decade or so.  My friends tell me that the Amendment-2-based gun law benefits outweigh the disadvantages, but I’m not so sure . . .  A recognized ”anti-gun researcher” from the Harvard School of Public health has published a review of the risks and benefits of guns in the home in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.    

The risks of having a gun in the home include:

1. Accidents.  Children aged 5 to 14 in the USA have 11 times the likelihood of being killed accidentally with a gun than children in other developed countries.  Residents from the 15 US states with highest gun ownership were 6 times more likely to die in a gun accident than those from the 6 states with the lowest gun ownership.  For every fatal gun accident, more than 10 people are injured seriously enough in gun accidents to require hospital ER treatment.
2. Suicides.  Between 2003 and 2007, an average of 46 Americans committed suicide with guns every day.  Guns are clearly the leading instrument in successful suicide attempts.  Numerous studies have shown that guns in the home are associated with significantly higher rates of suicide, especially for adolescents and young adults.
3. Homicides.  Between 2003 and 2007, an average of 33 Americans were murdered with guns every day.  Over 2/3 of all homicides were done with firearms.  Of 400 homicide victims from 3 US metropolitan areas who were killed in their homes, over half died from gunshot wounds; in 95% of cases, the perpetrator was not a stranger – in only 14% of cases, was there evidence of forced entry.  The presence of a gun in the home was strongly associated with an increased risk for homicide in the home.
4. Intimidation.  Studies of battered women reveal that guns are used to intimidate and coerce; one analysis of Californian shelter data shows this to be a factor in 2/3 of cases.

The benefits of having a gun at home are usually grouped under the heading ‘protection’, plus, of course, ‘fun’. There are fewer stats and references to these topics in the review.

1. Deterrence.  Lower crime rates have been reported in states with higher levels of household gun ownership.  The reverse is also reported in other studies.
2. Thwarting Crimes.  In fact, actual use of a gun is extremely rare – in about 1% of home invasions and 0.1% in sexual assaults, according to police reports; and the reports indicate that a lot of these are inappropriate use of the gun.  And a poorly-trained gun owner is even more unlikely to use the weapon effectively, even when self-defense is involved.

Although this review appears heavily weighted in favor of the risk side of the equation, this does not seem to be due to the author’s bias.  There just aren’t adequate studies to show clearly what benefits come from having a gun at home.  There’s little doubt that strong arguments exist (mostly derived from the National Rifle Association or NRA) in favor of gun ownership, but these are correctly tempered by advice to keep the gun ‘locked’ (and locked-up0, and for comprehensive owner training.