VA researchers found that community events at which gun owners received education and their choice of free locking devices led to higher rates of safe gun storage.

The findings appeared in August 2017 in the journal Injury Prevention.

More than 200 people took part in the study. Nearly 90 percent chose a lock box instead of a trigger lock for a safety device. The study team then assessed changes in three safe firearm storage practices: whether all household firearms were stored and locked, whether all of them were unloaded, and whether all ammunition was locked. The team also took a composite measure of those three safe practices.

The researchers note that at follow-up, a “significantly greater proportion” of participants reported that all household firearms were locked (13.7 percent increase) and unloaded (8.5 percent increase), and that they were using all three safe practices (12.6 percent increase).

Most of the respondents also said that they would be “comfortable” or “very comfortable” discussing safe firearm practices with safety counselors, though women were less likely to feel that way than men.

The lead researcher, Dr. Joseph Simonetti of the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System, said it is unclear why the lock box program, or others like it, was effective in promoting safe firearm storage.

“Perhaps the general messaging of promoting firearm safety influenced firearm owners’ decisions around safe firearm storage, or served as a reminder to re-evaluate how they or their household members were storing guns at home,” Simonetti said. “We already know from mountains of behavioral health economic research that eliminating barriers to making health-related behavior changes increases your chances of success. Some homeowners may have already wanted to increase their firearm safety practices but didn’t have the tangible resources to do so. In that case, providing the lock box would be essential.”

Each year, gun violence results in tens of thousands of deaths and injuries in the United States. About one-fifth of the violent incidents are self-inflicted, with firearms serving as the most common method of suicide, which has reached alarming levels in the Veteran community. Many other gun tragedies are accidentally caused by children and adolescents.

Observational studies and randomized controlled trials have linked safe storage of firearms to fewer deaths and injuries. Public health and medical associations, as well as gun advocates and retailers, recommend safe storage practices. Nonetheless, many people do not store their firearms safely, leading to a slew of unfortunate incidents.

Simonetti and his team thus set out to identify ways to promote safer firearm storage in the community, where evidence of the effectiveness of gun safety intervention programs is limited.

Two 2015 community-based firearm safety events in Washington state served as the springboard for their study. The events took place at sporting goods stores that sell guns. The participants, all of whom were at least 18 years old, received a safety message, their choice of a free firearm safety device–a lock box or trigger lock–and demonstrations by staff of how to use both items. The participants then practiced using a lock box and trigger lock with a mock firearm.

The researchers note that this was the first gun safety program they know of to allow participants to choose between different free firearm locking devices. The safety messages included recommendations to store firearms unloaded and locked using a device such as a safe, lock box, trigger lock, or chamber lock; to store ammunition in a locked place separate from firearms; and to consider removing firearms from the home if a family member is depressed, suicidal, or abusing drugs or alcohol.

More than 400 people who attended the safety events completed a survey that assessed household demographics a