What do we know about guns in the home and violence? Consider a 2004 study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Researchers sought to determine whether having a firearm increases the risk of a violent death in the home and whether risk varies by storage practice, type of gun, or the number of guns in the home. Among the findings:

– People with guns in the home were at greater risk than those without guns in the home of dying from a homicide in the home.
– They were also at greater risk of dying from a firearm homicide (risk varied by age and whether the person was living with others at the time of death).
– The risk of dying from a suicide in the home was greater for males in homes with guns than for males without guns in the home.
– People with guns in the home were more likely to have died from suicide committed with a firearm than from suicide using a different method.

Bottom line: Researchers found that no matter what kind of storage was used, no matter the type or number of guns, having a gun in the home increased the risk of firearms homicide and suicide.