Perceived neighborhood safety, firearm ownership, and firearm storage practices: an update
Using 2024–2025 BRFSS data from 79,972 U.S. adults, this study finds that while perceived neighborhood safety does not influence whether households own firearms, living in perceived unsafe neighborhoods is significantly associated with a higher likelihood of storing firearms in a loaded and unlocked state.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
In the United States, the presence of firearms in the home is a complex reality intertwined with personal safety, community trust, and public health. While it is well known that neighborhoods facing economic hardship or high crime rates often see more firearm-related injuries and deaths, less attention has been paid to how a resident's feeling of safety in their own neighborhood influences what they do with their guns. Specifically, researchers have long sought to understand the habits of gun owners: do they keep their weapons locked away, or are they left ready for immediate use? This question matters deeply because the way a firearm is stored is a critical factor in preventing accidental shootings and suicides. When a gun is left loaded and unlocked, it becomes a readily available tool for tragedy, whereas secure storage acts as a vital barrier against unintended harm. The relationship between the perceived safety of a street or block and the choices people make about their weapons has remained a quiet corner of this broader conversation, waiting to be examined with fresh data.
A recent study by researchers at Augusta University sought to fill this gap by looking at the habits of nearly 80,000 adults across seventeen states. The team analyzed responses from two large national surveys conducted in 2024 and 2025, asking participants not only whether they owned a firearm but also how they felt about the safety of their neighborhood from crime. They categorized these feelings into three groups: those who felt their neighborhood was extremely safe, those who felt it was safe, and those who felt it was unsafe or extremely unsafe. The researchers then compared these feelings against two main outcomes: whether the person owned a gun at all, and if they did, how they stored it. They paid close attention to whether guns were kept unloaded, loaded but locked, or loaded and unlocked, with the last category representing the most dangerous storage practice.
The investigation began by testing a common assumption: that people living in dangerous neighborhoods might be more likely to own a gun for protection. When the researchers looked at the raw numbers, it appeared that gun ownership was significantly lower in neighborhoods people perceived as unsafe compared to those perceived as extremely safe. However, once the researchers accounted for other factors such as age, income, education, race, and whether the person was a veteran, this difference disappeared. The study found that after adjusting for these demographic details, the feeling of living in an unsafe neighborhood did not make a person more or less likely to own a firearm. The likelihood of owning a gun remained steady regardless of whether the resident felt their street was safe or dangerous. This suggests that the decision to own a gun is driven more by personal background and socioeconomic status than by the immediate perception of crime in the neighborhood.
The story changed, however, when the researchers looked at how gun owners stored their weapons. Here, the feeling of safety in the neighborhood played a significant role. Among those who owned firearms, people living in neighborhoods they considered unsafe were much more likely to keep their guns loaded and unlocked compared to those in extremely safe neighborhoods. The data showed that gun owners in unsafe neighborhoods were roughly nine percentage points more likely to have their weapons in this high-risk state. To put this in perspective, while about 17 percent of gun owners in extremely safe neighborhoods kept their guns loaded and unlocked, that number jumped to over 26 percent for those in unsafe neighborhoods. This pattern held true even after the researchers controlled for income, education, and other personal characteristics, indicating a strong link between the perception of neighborhood danger and the decision to leave a weapon ready for immediate use.
This trend was not uniform across all groups, though. The researchers observed that the difference in storage habits was most pronounced among men and those with lower incomes. For women and for people with middle or high incomes, the link between feeling unsafe and leaving a gun unlocked was less clear and did not reach the same level of statistical certainty. This suggests that while the general trend is strong, the reasons behind these choices may vary depending on who is making them. The study did not claim that unsafe neighborhoods cause people to leave guns unlocked, but rather that the two things are closely connected. It is possible that the fear of crime in a specific area leads gun owners to prioritize quick access over secure storage, a choice that unfortunately increases the risk of accidental injury or suicide within the home.
The findings offer a new angle for public health officials and community leaders. Rather than focusing solely on gun ownership rates, which the study found were not directly tied to neighborhood safety perceptions, efforts might be better directed toward how guns are stored in high-risk areas. The researchers suggest that improving the actual safety of neighborhoods could indirectly encourage safer storage habits, but they also emphasize that targeted education on safe storage is crucial for those living in areas perceived as dangerous. By understanding that the feeling of insecurity in a community is linked to riskier behavior at home, authorities can develop partnerships to address both the environment and the habits within it, potentially reducing the number of firearm-related injuries and deaths.
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