Table 4 Themes related to parental firearm storage practices

Firearm storage must be compatible with a specific context of use

I do not need a side arm for protection in my home, and therefore it’s very easy for me to basically break this thing [the firearm] down into … less hazardous parts, but … there are people who keep handguns more readily available

[quotation from participant who kept firearm for self-defense] It’s timing, because literally the safe that’s next to my bed is within my arm’s reach

Some parents engage in higher-risk storage because they believe it is adequate to reduce risk of injury

[quotation from participant who kept an unlocked, unloaded firearm] I felt that it was safe enough … Is it perfect? No, certainly could we put a gun safe some place in the house, I guess

Not owning one is probably the best way [to keep children safe from injury] … If you're going to have them in the house, I think a specifically designed safe … is the next best thing

Firearm practices are influenced by one’s social network and lived experience

Safe practice, informing your children, begets safe practice. That’s how my father was. He was very responsible. I shot weapons from the time I was six years old

I did eight years in the Marine Corps and I pretty much carry on that, the safety aspect for the firearms in my personal life

Parents who own firearms owners may be amenable to changing storage practices

When I was 21, I didn’t have children … My pistols were in the drawer, which weren’t locked … But when I started living with—me and [my partner], we came together, and then we had our daughter, [and] it was like, “Okay, things have gotta change. They don’t need to be on display … They need to be safe.”

She [my wife] goes, “You know I wouldn’t mind if you bought another safe to keep all the ammunition separate.” I was like, you know, that’s actually not an awful idea now that I think about it

Currently, there's no purpose for it. We don't use it. It's like, get rid of it

Parents’ conceptualization of firearm injury prevention is multimodal, involving safer storage, education, and legislation

Well, storing them locked is the primary means of ensuring safety, right? If you can’t access the firearms, you cannot use them. Then having them … unloaded is just a double lock and key-type measure. It’s kind of redundant

She knows at six years old her basic rules of gun safety, which is … If you see a gun, run away and get an adult

Controlling who can have them [firearms] with better background check situations