How a Brief Conversation About Firearm Safety Can Increase Openness to Storing Guns Outside of the Home

Rutgers researcher finds that the Project Safe Guard intervention more than doubled the proportion of initially unwilling participants to consider temporary firearm storage out of their homes

A brief chat about firearm safety can sharply increase the willingness among gun owners to consider temporarily storing their firearms outside the home during times of crisis, a step that could help reduce suicide risk, according to a Rutgers-led study.

Researchers at the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at Rutgers found that Project Safe Guard more than doubled the proportion of participants who initially opposed out-of-home firearm storage but later became open to the practice after a roughly 15-minute intervention.

Firearm access can increase the risk of suicide, particularly during periods of acute distress. One approach to reducing that risk is to temporarily make firearms less accessible during crises, such as storing them outside the home. Despite the potential benefits of this approach, however, many firearm owners are reluctant to consider temporarily storing their firearms elsewhere.

Researchers examined whether a brief conversation about safer firearm storage could increase willingness to use temporary out-of-home storage during times of distress.

These findings give us reason to think that lethal means safety counseling can help overcome one of the biggest barriers to out-of-home storage: getting people to consider it in the first place.

Michael Anestis

Executive Director, New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at Rutgers

The study, published in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, analyzed data from 232 members of the Mississippi National Guard who had access to firearms in their homes. The data came from the original randomized controlled trial of a brief safety intervention known as Project Safe Guard that is designed to encourage secure firearm storage.

Participants received either a roughly 15-minute Project Safe Guard conversation about firearm storage or a comparison conversation focused on other aspects of health and home safety. They were asked about their willingness to temporarily have someone they trust store their firearm if they or someone in their household became highly distressed, both immediately before and after the intervention and again three and six months later.

The researchers found that participants who received Project Safe Guard became significantly more willing to consider temporarily storing their firearms outside the home when they themselves became highly distressed. A similar, though smaller, increase was found when participants were asked about storing firearms away from home if someone else in their household became highly distressed.

The findings were particularly notable among participants who initially said they weren't at all willing to use out-of-home firearm storage. Immediately after the intervention, 56.5% of those who received Project Safe Guard reported at least some willingness to temporarily store their firearm outside the home, compared with 20.8% of those who received the comparison intervention.

"Many firearm owners are understandably hesitant to consider storing their firearms somewhere else, even when they recognize that a crisis could change how safe it is to have a firearm readily available," said Michael Anestis, executive director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at Rutgers and lead author of the study. "These findings suggest that a brief, respectful conversation about firearm safety can make people more open to this option, including people who initially rejected the idea entirely."

The researchers found that the difference between the Project Safe Guard and comparison groups was strongest immediately after the intervention and became less pronounced over time. Among participants who were initially completely unwilling to consider out-of-home storage, 68.4% of those who received Project Safe Guard reported some willingness at three months, compared with 36.4% of those in the comparison group. By six months, the difference was smaller and was no longer statistically significant.

The authors emphasize that the study measured willingness to use out-of-home firearm storage rather than whether participants actually stored their firearms outside the home. The study also involved members of the Mississippi National Guard, meaning the findings may not generalize to all firearm owners. In addition, the authors emphasized that not all Project Safe Guard sessions involved discussions of out-of-home storage, which likely diminished the results. Legal and practical barriers to temporary firearm storage also vary by state.

"These findings give us reason to think that lethal means safety counseling can help overcome one of the biggest barriers to out-of-home storage: getting people to consider it in the first place," Anestis said. "The next step is to make temporary out-of-home storage easier to access and more familiar to firearm owners, so that increased willingness can translate into actual use when someone is experiencing a crisis."

The study builds on previous research showing that Project Safe Guard can increase secure firearm storage practices in the home. Together, the findings suggest that brief, voluntary conversations about firearm safety may help firearm owners consider multiple ways of reducing access to firearms during periods of heightened risk.

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