Hemenway, David. 2004 ‘Guns in the Home.’ Private Guns, Public Health, p. 81. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. 17 February

Relevant contents

Guns in the home

Guns in the home increase the risk of unintentional firearm injury, suicide, and homicide. For example, a recent case-control study found that a gun in the home is a large risk factor for accidental firearm fatality (Weibe 2003a).

All nine case-control studies of guns and suicide in the United States found that a gun in the home is a significant and substantial risk factor for suicide.

Not surprisingly, states with more guns have higher suicide rates (Miller and Hemenway, 1999; Miller, Azrael, and Hemenway 2002a, 2002b, 2002d).

Two case-control studies found that a gun in the home doubled the relative risk for homicide (Kellermann et al. 1993; Cummings, Koepsell et al. 1997).

Kellermann and coauthors (1993) found that almost all of the higher risk for homicide resulted from a greater risk of homicide by a family member or close acquaintance; no protective lifesaving benefit was found for gun ownership, even in the homicide cases involving forced entry.

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