This study reviewed the medical examiner's case files for King County, Wash., to identify every firearm-related death that occurred in the county between January 1, 1978, and December 31, 1983. In addition to general demographic information, the study obtained data on the manner of death, the scene of the incident, the circumstances, the relationship of the suspect to the victim, the type of firearm involved, and the blood alcohol level of the victim at the time of the autopsy. Of the 743 deaths from firearms during the 6-year period, 473 (63.7 percent) occurred inside a house or dwelling, and 398 (53.6 percent) occurred in the home where the firearm was kept. Of these 398 firearm deaths, 333 (83.7 percent) were suicides, 50 (12.6 percent) were homicides, and 12 (3 percent) were accidental gunshot deaths. The precise manner of death was undetermined in three additional cases that involved self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Guns kept in King County homes were involved in the deaths of friends or acquaintances 12 times as often as in those of strangers. Even after the exclusion of firearm-related suicides, guns kept at home were involved in the death of a member of the household 18 times more often than in the death of a stranger. For every time a gun in the home was involved in a "self-protection" homicide, there were 1.3 accidental gunshot deaths, 4.6 criminal homicides, and 37 firearm-related suicides. Handguns were far more commonly involved in gunshot deaths in the home than shotguns or rifles. It may reasonably be asked whether keeping firearms in the home increases a family's protection or places it in greater danger.