Title: Keeping a Gun in Your Home Can Make Your Household Less Safe, Research Finds - Pacific Standard
Headings: Research Finds That Having a Gun in Your Home Can Make Your Household Less Safe
Research Finds That Having a Gun in Your Home Can Make Your Household Less Safe
A new study finds that residents of states with higher levels of gun ownership are more likely to be shot to death by a family member or intimate partner.

Content: After taking into account other factors that could contribute to homicide rates, including poverty, unemployment, average alcohol consumption, and rates of high school completion, the researchers found a disturbing (if perhaps predictable) pattern. "These results suggest that one-third of all homicides are classified as domestic, and most of these cases involve female victims," the researchers write. " Furthermore, domestic homicides committed by family members and intimate partners increase as the levels of firearm ownership increase." Specifically, for each 10 percent increase in household gun ownership rates, the researchers found a 13 percent increase in domestic homicides involving firearms. In contrast, the study found no significant association between firearm ownership rates and non-domestic homicides using firearms. That could reflect the fact that many gang-related and other crime-related killings are committed using illegally obtained weapons. The researchers note that there are several federal statutes aimed at reducing domestic firearm homicides, but that "little has been done at the federal level to enforce these laws." This lack of federal enforcement suggests "the need for state firearm legislation directed toward protecting victims of domestic violence, as access to firearms uniquely increases the likelihood of homicide among this population," the team writes.