Introduction
As deaths due to gun violence mount and the political discourse surrounding gun control rages on, non-governmental organizations, sometimes with support from state authorities but often working independently, have begun publishing temporary, voluntary, safe firearm storage maps. These online, publicly accessible maps identify locations — often police stations, shooting ranges, gun shops, or special storage facilities — that have both the capacity and the willingness to temporarily store citizens’ firearms at no or low cost (although policies can vary significantly between locales, even within the same state). The creators of these maps hope that they will enable gun owners to easily locate safe, out-of-home locations to store their weapons when, for instance, someone in their household is in crisis, they are leaving home for a period of time or their family members are coming to visit, etc.
Background
Temporary, voluntary, safe firearm storage maps are a relatively new innovation in the public policy sphere but have quickly gained traction at the state level. The first online map was published for the State of Colorado in 2019 by an interdisciplinary team coming from academia and the nonprofit sector. Since then, similar maps have been created for the states of Washington, Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Mississippi. Within states, there has also been momentum to create regional maps, with medical professionals in Northeast Ohio, for instance, working on a map for the Cleveland-Akron corridor. While some of these maps, like Colorado’s map, were initiatives from outside of government, others, like New York’s map, came from collaboration between state authorities, medical practitioners and gun violence prevention activists. That said, it certainly has been nongovernmental organizations that have taken the bulk of the initiative to establish these maps.
The Biden administration has begun to acknowledge these maps’ potential value. The 2021 White House Military and Veteran Suicide Prevention Strategy report, for instance, recommended that more states develop similar maps. That said, the federal government has not yet pledged specific funding or other material support to facilitate the production of additional regional or state firearm storage maps.
Despite the growing support for safe storage maps, empirical evidence about their efficacy is incomplete and, thus, inconclusive, due to their novelty in the public policy realm. That said, there is a strong theoretical rationale for their impactfulness, especially when it comes to preventing suicides — which remain one of the leading causes of death in the United States. A wealth of evidence indicates that home firearm availability is positively correlated with suicide. Firearms can be used with no or short deliberation and are highly lethal. As a result, they are used in approximately half of all successful suicide attempts.
Aside from preventing suicide, though, there are a variety of other circumstances in which voluntary firearm storage may prove valuable. Of course, as Americans know all too well, some people in crisis or who are otherwise disturbed — disproportionately young, white men — turn accessible firearms onto others in the form of mass shooting events. Keeping these weapons out of the household makes it much more difficult for underaged children and teenagers to get ahold of them. Voluntary firearm storage, similarly, should reduce the prevalence of children accidentally discharging firearms. In addition to these instances, there are a wealth of other potential scenarios in which removing firearms from a household could have beneficial, safety-related impacts.
That said, the potential benefits of gun safe storage maps are constrained by the gun owners themselves, who must decide to safely store their firearms for these maps to be effective.
Given the potential benefits of having more out-of-home safe storage locations, some researchers have begun the task of determining why current safe storage locations choose to offer this service. At first glance, deciding to become a participating location appears to be an inexplicable decision, as safe storage locations receive no or little financial compensation for firearm storage; and, in fact, the operators’ of these locations believe that participating subjects them to additional civil liability, regulatory and legal risks. Despite these perceived risks, safe storage suppliers noted in interviews that they decided to go through with offering temporary safe storage because they believed doing so to be a service that helps their customers and communities.
Policy Recommendations
More governmental attention should be given to gun safe storage locations and maps since these interventions have the potential to be impactful, low-cost methods to reduce gun violence. The federal government, state governments and nonprofit organizations should focus on facilitating research into the impact of existing programs and on supporting the creation of additional maps. Initially, financial support can be limited, but governments should clarify — and eliminate — the real and perceived risks that safe storage providers face through legislation and regulatory guidance. If safe storage programs are proven effective, state and local governments should invest in these programs. For instance, relatively small incentives could encourage the participation of additional storage providers.
Ultimately, while gun safe storage maps and programs are certainly not an all-encompassing solution to America’s gun violence epidemic, they could be an impactful, feasible policy option and, thus, deserve further consideration.
