Gun violence kills the equivalent of a bus full of children each week!
“A standard school bus in the U.S. holds about 50 to 60 kids. Imagine if one school bus full of children crashed each week, killing every child on board. How outraged would communities be and how quick and aggressive would the response to this public health crisis be?” These words were written by Benjamin Hoffman, MD, president of the AAP in June 2024.
In the past few years, firearms have surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death among children and adolescents ages 1 to 19 years.
Most unintentional firearm injury deaths among children occurred in homes, and firearms used most often belonged to the parent of the shooter. Approximately half of fatal injuries were inflicted by others, but injuries to children aged 0 to 5 years were disproportionately self-inflicted. According to the CDC, firearms used to inflict fatal unintentional injuries were frequently stored both loaded and unlocked.
Currently, unintentional injury is the fourth leading cause of death among infants (i.e., children aged <1 year) and is the top cause of death among children and adolescents aged 1–17 years. Firearms are a leading injury method.
Approximately one half (53%) of fatal unintentional firearm injuries to children were inflicted by others; 38% were self-inflicted. Approximately two thirds of shooters were playing with or showing the firearm to others when it discharged. Overall, firearms used in unintentional injury deaths were often stored loaded and unlocked and were most accessed from nightstands and other sleeping areas.
Almost 60% of gun deaths are suicides, and over the past decade, young adults have experienced a “staggering increase” in gun suicide rates. Suicide attempts involving a firearm are more often fatal (91%) compared with those involving drug overdoses (23%). Over 80% of child firearm suicides involved a gun belonging to a family member.
About one third of American children (5 million) live in homes with firearms, and of these households, 43% contain at least 1 unlocked firearm. Thirteen percent (13%) of households with guns contain at least 1 firearm that is unlocked and loaded or stored with ammunition.
According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll, experiences with gun-related incidents are common among us, U.S. adults. One in five (21%) say they have personally been threatened with a gun, a similar share (19%) says a family member was killed by a gun (including death by suicide), and nearly as many (17%) have personally witnessed someone being shot. In total, about half (54%) of all U.S. adults say they or a family member have ever had one of these experiences. These are startling statistics.
The “Surgeon General’s Advisory on Firearm Violence” issued last week drew attention to the fact that gun violence is an urgent public health crisis. We all know this, but thanks to the powerful hold on our political process by the gun lobby, it has been nearly impossible to focus the federal government’s attention on this disgraceful and uniquely American problem. I am glad that Katelyn Jetelina of “Your Local Epidemiologist” wrote about this last week, and acknowledged that gun violence is a public health issue.
The issues for parents, whether you own guns or not, are access to guns and safe storage of guns. Unintentional gun deaths are preventable with secure storage options with a gun lock, vault or safe. Secure firearm storage has been shown to decrease risk of death by suicide or unintentional shooting by 80%. That’s huge!
There is good evidence that community-based and hospital-based violence interruption programs work, according to research done by the Violence Research Prevention Program at UC Davis. There is reasonable evidence that extreme risk protection orders work — like domestic violence restraining orders and red flag laws.
The American Academy of Pedicatrics (AAP) initiated the Gun Safety Injury and Violence Prevention Program (GSIVP) which recently awarded ten sites a grant of $15,000 each from the AAP Friends of Children Fund. Sites with disproportionately high rates of violence, gun-related deaths, and health inequities were chosen.
These small grants financed the distribution of more than 1,900-gun locks, firearm safety training, community events, webinars, social media campaigns, public service announcements and educational materials in multiple languages to spread gun safety messaging. The AAP’s GSIV program also funded 108 concealed-carry courses.
The Youth Violence Intervention Program at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. used GSIVP funding to buy grocery gift cards and transit vouchers for families of children affected by gun violence. Chicago’s Urban Male Network mentorship program provided professional counseling to its members after one of their own was shot and killed. Every community is different.
There is an urgent need for further gun safety education and violence prevention. This is where regular mothers - like you - can make a difference. Are you participating in some of the gun violence prevention programs in your area of the country?
Are you a member of Sandy Hook Promise or Moms Demand Action or Every Town for Gun Safety or Brady United? Please visit these websites to see the focus area that each organization has for gun violence prevention. It will be well worth your time to join one of these groups – each is trying to make a difference in our epidemic of gun violence.
I lobbied on behalf of Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) to the Texas State Legislature two years ago, pleaded with them to fund the SHP curriculum called “Say Something” which teaches elementary, middle, and high school students to recognize the warning signs of someone at-risk of hurting themselves or others. The TX legislature chose instead to put money into “hardening” Texas Schools with funding for more security officers and metal detectors.
I was discouraged, but I will keep trying. What efforts can you make to help end this epidemic of gun violence? We can make a difference in our own communities.
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