Poll: 4 of 10 Ohioans have gun in home

VW independent/submitted information

CINCINNATI — The most recent Ohio Health Issues Poll (OHIP) found more than 4 in 10 (42 percent) of Ohio adults report keeping at least one firearm in or around their home. This number has increased from 2013, when 36 percent reported keeping a firearm.

Nearly 2 in 10 (18 percent) Ohio adults said they keep a loaded firearm, while half of those, about 1 in 10 Ohio adults, (11 percent) report that this loaded firearm is unlocked in or around their home.

Research shows that having a gun in the home can increase the risk of unintentional injury, including homicide and suicide. Ohio Governor John Kasich recently proposed six changes to Ohio gun laws, including a “red flag” law that would enable family members or police to ask judges to temporarily strip gun rights from people showing warning signs of violence.

“The number of deaths related to guns has continued to increase in Ohio,”² says O’dell Moreno Owens, M.D., M.P.H., president and CEO of Interact for Health. “As we continue to debate policy changes related to firearms it is vitally important to better understand how our neighbors use and store firearms.”

Among Ohio adults living in homes with children, nearly half (47 percent) report having a firearm. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) currently recommends not to having a firearm in a home with a child. If a gun is kept in the home, AAP recommends the firearm be unloaded and securely locked in storage away from the ammunition.

Men (50 percent) are more likely than women (35 percent) to have a firearm in or around their home. Responses also vary by age. Adults between the age of 18 and 29 (57 percent) are more likely than older adults (38 percent) to report having a firearm.

About the Ohio Health Issues Poll

The 2017 Ohio Health Issues Poll (OHIP) is funded by Interact for Health. OHIP was conducted from June 18 to July 30, 2017, by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 836 adults from throughout Ohio was interviewed by telephone. This included 430 landline telephone interviews and 406 cell phone interviews. In 95 of 100 cases, statewide estimates will be accurate to ± 3.4 percent. There are other sources of variation inherent in public opinion studies, such as non-response, question wording, or context effects that can introduce error or bias.

For more information about the Ohio Health Issues Poll, visit www.interactforhealth.org/ohio-health-issues-poll.