Gun owners disagree about essential safety precautions in homes with kids

Americans who own guns and those who do not hold different views about which safety precautions prove essential in a home with both kids and firearms, according to a survey released this week.

The Pew Research Center said 66 percent of gun owners agreed their guns should be locked up compared with 90 percent of non-owners. Roughly 4 in 10 owners said guns should be kept unloaded with children in the house, compared to 7 out of 10 non-owners.

Only 26 percent of owners believed visitors with children should be advised of guns present in the home while 48 percent of non-owners felt the opposite way.

Pew questioned 3,930 adults in April and May about their views on guns. About one-third of those surveyed said they owned at least one gun.

While some issues both groups agreed near-universally on β€” such as parents should discuss gun safety with their children β€” others divided the owners from the non-owners sharply.

β€œThe majority of Americans who don’t own guns feel it is also essential for gun owners with children living in the home to keep their guns unloaded and in a separate spot from the ammunition,” Pew said Thursday. β€œGun owners disagree. Majorities say these measures are either important but not essential or not important, even in households with children.”

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