Similar firearm storage patterns were seen; a substantial proportion endorsed always, nearly always carrying firearms outside the house<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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TUESDAY, March 5, 2024 (HealthDay News) — American Indian or Alaska Native (AI\/AN) and Black adults have high access to firearms and cite protection as a main reason for owning or carrying a firearm, according to a study published online March 4 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Michael D. Anestis, Ph.D., from The State University of New Jersey in Piscataway, and colleagues surveyed a nationally representative sample of AI\/AN and\/or Black adults to examine geodemographic differences in firearm behaviors and violence exposure. Data were included for 3,542 participants: 14.9 and 85.1 percent were AI\/AN and Black, respectively.<\/p>\n The researchers found that high firearm access rates were exhibited by both groups (45.4 and 30.4 percent for AI\/AN and Black adults, respectively), with handguns predominantly owned for home protection. Similar firearm storage patterns were seen in the groups, and a substantial proportion endorsed always or almost always carrying firearms outside the house (18.9 and 15.2 percent of AI\/AN and Black adults, respectively). A common reason for carrying a firearm was self-protection (84.9 and 88.3 percent for AI\/AN and Black adults, respectively); lack of faith in the police was cited by a minority of participants (15.2 and 15.4 percent for AI\/AN and Black adults, respectively), indicating potential shifts in the dynamics of public safety.<\/p>\n “The descriptive information presented here has implications for informing public health campaigns and policies to promote safe firearm use and prevent inequitable exposure to firearm violence,” the authors write.<\/p>\n One author disclosed receiving book royalties from Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n