Don’t Touch Daddy’s Gun

Don’t touch Daddy’s (Mommy’s) gun. 

Four seemingly unassuming words literally acting as an invisible barrier between life and possible catastrophe. This invisible barrier is nothing when up against the fascination of a child who is inquisitive by nature. Sadly, some of these inquisitive children died after discovering an unsecured firearm in their home. Unsecured firearms claimed the lives of over 4300 children aged 1-19 in 2020 (McGough, Amin, Panchal, & Cox, 2022). Firearms deaths of children surpassed vehicular accidents as the leading cause of death for this same age group (McGough, Amin, Panchal, & Cox, 2022). Nearly every single day in this country a child shoots themselves or someone else with an unsecured firearm (Diaz, 2020).

Of course, many still believe it can’t or won’t happen to them…until it does.[1][2][3]

Often, merely bringing up the topic of firearm safety in a first responder home seemingly turns into a debate. However, firearm safety should not be a debate. It should be a topic that is openly and honestly discussed in the home. It should be discussed in terms of risk management for everyone residing in or visiting the home. This is imperative as there is an increased risk of homicide (Studdert, 2022) and suicide (Duff-Brown, 2020) in homes with firearms. 

Over half of all suicides in the US are firearms related, and firearms were noted in most cases of completed suicide for police and corrections officers from 2017-19 (Johnson, 2022, see also The Fatal 10). The majority of these deaths occurred at home and off-duty. Johnson calls the 12 hours off-duty the deadliest time for first responders, as their chances of dying or being killed are the greatest (Johnson, 2019). However, firearm safety and storage should be addressed at an even deeper level. How would one’s risk of suicide be increased if a family member were to get a hold of a firearm in the home resulting in serious injury or death? I would say the risk for a negative outcome is increased. The idea here is not to make this a debate but to help officers and families reduce risk in their off-duty time.

Unfortunately, a reality of police work is that officers by virtue of their job are required to carry and store firearms. So, access to lethal means is constant and proper storage is essential. 

We hope this short article sparks conversation and an ongoing discussion that helps us think differently about firearms and firearms storage and the risk we inherently accept. If we have officers dying by suicide (mainly in the home and off-duty) clear decisions about firearm safety or storage during times of crisis may need to be reconsidered. Our first responders love their families dearly and anything that can make our families safer should be worth talking about. 

[1]https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/newport-news/newport-news-officer-charged-after-2-year-old-son-accidentally-kills-himself-with-gun/

[2]https://people.com/crime/north-carolina-boy-finds-gun-kills-self-father-charged/

[3]https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2022/04/jury-parole-officer-whose-18-year-old-son-used-his-loaded-duty-gun-to-kill-himself-not-liable-for-his-death.html

Resources

• https://projectchildsafe.org/parents-and-gun-owners/

• https://www.luriechildrens.org/globalassets/media/pages/research/tricam/resources-for-parents-and-caregiver--firearm-safety_2021.pdf

• https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/Handguns-in-the-Home.aspx

References

David M. Studdert, Yifan Zhang, Erin E. Holsinger, et al. Homicide Deaths Among Adult Cohabitants of Handgun 

Owners in California, 2004 to 2016: A Cohort Study: Ann Intern Med. 2022; 175: 804-811. [Epub 5 April 2022]. Doi: 10.7326/M2I-3762

Diaz, J. (2020). High gun sales and more time at home have led to more accidental shootings by kids. Retrieved 

January 1, 2023, from: https://www.npr.org/2021/08/31/1032725392/guns-death-children

Duff-Brown, B. (2020). Handgun ownership associated with much higher risk of suicide. Retrieved January 1, 2023, from: https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2020/06/handgun-ownership-associated-with-much-higher-suicide-risk.html

Johnson, O. (2019). The 12 deadliest hours of the day. Retrieved January 2, 2023, from:  

https://www.lawofficer.com/the-12-deadliest-hours-of-theday/

Johnson, O., Papazoglou, K., Violanti, J., Pascarella, J. (Eds). (2022). Practical Considerations for Preventing Police Suicide. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83974-1

McGough, M., Amin, K., Panchal, N., & Cox, C. (2022). Child and teen firearm mortality in the U.S. and peer countries. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from: https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/issue-brief/child-and-teen-firearm-mortality-in-the-u-s-and-peer-countries/

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