LAUSR

Background: Secure home storage of firearms may reduce suicide and injury risk (1). Providing locking devices may increase secure firearm storage practices (2–4), but questions remain about which devicesmotivate secure storage. Objective: To describe preferences about personal firearm locking devices among firearm-owning adults living in the United States. Methods: We hired the Ipsos research firm for a brief (8-minute) online survey (28 July to 8 August 2022). Ipsos drew a sample from its KnowledgePanel, a probability-based, nationally representative, online panel of English-speaking, noninstitutionalized adults (aged ≥18 years) described elsewhere (5). Eligible survey participants were U.S. adults owning at least 1 firearm, excluding active-duty military personnel. Participants received incentives through KnowledgePanel; the Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board approved study procedures. Questions, accompanied by device photos, examined relative preferences for various firearm locking devices (Supplement, available at Annals.org). KnowledgePanel data included demographic and household characteristics. Descriptive analyses (weighted proportions with 95% CIs) were computed using the weighting variable provided by Ipsos andweighting commands in R, version 4.2.0 (R Foundation), using the survey package. Ipsos adjusts survey weights after sampling through iterative proportional fitting to minimize nonresponse bias and ensure that the sample is nationally representative. Study-specific poststratificationweights adjusted for nonresponse, demographic distributions (from the American Community Survey or Current Population Survey), and KnowledgePanel benchmarks for adult gun owners. Findings: Among 4081 firearm owners invited, 2152 completed the survey (53% participation) (Table). Respondents mostly identified as non-Hispanic White (75.6% [95% CI, 73.3% to 77.8%]) and male (66.7% [CI, 64.3% to 69.0%]). Most (64.8% [CI, 62.5% to 67.1%]) owned both handguns (mean, 3.7 handguns) and long guns (mean, 4.5 long guns). Most participants (70.8% [CI, 68.7% to 72.9%]) used at least 1 form of storage or locking device for at least 1 firearm; 65.3% (CI, 62.9% to 67.5%) had 1 or more unlocked firearms. The top considerations about the selection of firearm locking device related to speed (57.4% [CI, 55.0% to 59.7%]) and ease (49.4% [CI, 47.0% to 51.8%]) of access, followed by cost (33.0% [CI, 30.8% to 35.3%]), strength or security (30.4% [CI, 28.2% to 32.6%]), and compatibility with personally owned firearms (25.3% [CI, 23.3% to 27.4%]) (Table). Participants were asked to imagine being “at a community event and a nonpolitical group is giving out free firearm locking devices. You don't need to provide your name or contact information to get a device.” When queried what 1 device they would choose, 40.9% (CI, 38.5% to 43.3%) selected a device using a key, personal identification number (PIN), or dial and 41.9% (CI, 39.4% to 44.3%) chose a biometric device. The remainder chose a coupon toward a purchase of a gun safe, cabinet, or other large locking device (Table), but 80.0% said the coupon would need to be for at least 25% off. The most popular device choices were a biometric in-vehicle lock (17.1% [CI, 15.2% to 19.1%]) or a trigger lock using a key, PIN, or dial (12.2% [CI, 10.7% to Table. Demographic and Firearm-Related Characteristics of Adult Firearm Owners (n = 2152)*