A conversation about firearm safety doesn't have to be long, or confrontational, to open the door to a potentially lifesaving choice. New research suggests that a discussion lasting about 15 minutes can make some gun owners more willing to temporarily store their firearms outside the home during a period of crisis, such as a potential suicide.

The study examined a brief intervention called Project Safeguard that is designed to encourage safer firearm storage.

Researchers analyzed data from 232 firearm-owning members of the Mississippi National Guard who participated in the original randomized trial. The study was conducted with service members who had at least one firearm in their home.

People were asked whether they would be willing to have someone they trusted temporarily store their firearm if they, or another member of their household, became highly distressed.

Participants received either a roughly 15-minute Project Safeguard conversation about firearm safety or a comparison conversation of equal length that addressed other aspects of health and home safety.

People in the study were asked whether they would be willing to have someone they trusted temporarily store their firearm if they, or another member of their household, became highly distressed.

Rather than telling participants what they should do, Project Safeguard took a voluntary, respectful approach. The focus was a discussion of firearm access and storage during periods when someone might be at increased risk for suicide or gun violence.

The researchers assessed participants' willingness immediately before and after the intervention, then again three and six months later.

The findings were especially notable among participants who initially said they were completely unwilling to consider storing a firearm outside their home. Immediately after the intervention, 56.5 percent of those who received Project Safeguard said they were at least somewhat willing to consider temporary out-of-home storage. Among those who received the comparison intervention, only 20.8 percent expressed that degree of willingness.

The differences narrowed with time. At three months, 68.4 percent of initially unwilling participants in the Project Safeguard Group expressed some willingness, compared with 36.4 percent in the comparison group. By six months, however, the effect had worn off — the difference was no longer statistically significant.

"Many firearm owners are understandably hesitant to consider storing their firearms somewhere else, even when they recognize that a crisis could change how safe it is to have a firearm readily available," lead author Michael D. Anestis, a clinical psychologist and professor in the Department of Urban-Global Public Health at Rutgers School of Public Health and Executive Director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center, explained. "These findings suggest that a brief, respectful conversation about firearm safety can make people more open to this option, including people who initially rejected the idea entirely."

The findings were especially notable among participants who initially said they were completely unwilling to consider storing a firearm outside their home.

Practical and legal options for temporary storage differ from state to state. Still, the researchers say the findings point to a potentially useful way of approaching a sensitive subject: start with a conversation rather than an instruction.

The next step, the researchers suggest, is to make temporary out-of-home storage more familiar to firearm owners and easier to access, so it's easier for gun owners to choose safety when someone is experiencing a crisis.

The results come with a few caveats: The distinction between being willing to consider storing a gun outside the home and actually doing so is important. The study did not determine whether any participants moved their firearms out of their homes, and not every project safeguard session specifically discussed out-of-home storage. The findings cannot necessarily be generalized to all gun owners, since everyone in the study was a member of the Mississippi National Guard.

A conversation alone cannot prevent a tragedy. But the team has identified something important: before people can make a choice, they may first need to understand there is one worth considering.

The study is published in Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior.