Impact of Gun Ownership patterns and availability of firearms to children 1-18  in the USA

I would like to share vital data about the unacceptably high death rates among children 1-18 from Gun Injuries and provide details about longer term consequences of shootings and gun related deaths.

I don’t want anyone to think for a minute that I am disappointed by the provisions of the Bipartisan Bill S2938 that was formulated by Republican and Democrat Senators of good will that has been signed into Law by President Biden. I Salute and Congratulate them. They are trying to help us meet these three goals I have envisioned from the beginning of this legislative endeavor. I have given a link to my graphic; these three principles for community rebuilding putting childhood and innocence back into the lives of school children: Stop the Shooters swiftly, Stop the Bleed and Start the Healing.

However, we must continue to strive and advocate for new creative solutions to save our children from the short- and long-term consequences of Gun Violence even if the injuries and deaths are unintentional and as a result of suicide not from Homicide. Mass shootings remain the smallest proportion of deaths, accounting for 1.2% of all homicides among 5 to 18-year-olds.

1. Saving Kids from Guns: The Most Promising Strategies, According to Experts
         Safe storage, red flag laws, group therapy, and focusing on likely offenders can help prevent shootings.

2.The Facts on Children and Teens Killed by Guns (thetrace.org)

3.The Impact of Gun Violence on Children and Teens | Everytown Research & Policy | Everytown Research & Policy
              Key Findings: Gun deaths among children and teens by intent
              Gun suicides 35%, Gun Suicides 60%, Unintentional Gun Deaths 4%, Undetermined Deaths 2%.
              Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens.4 This is a uniquely American problem. Compared to other                      high-income countries, American children aged 5 to 14 are 21 times more likely to be killed with guns, and American                                adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 24 are 23 times more likely to be killed with guns.5
Although Black students represent 15 percent of the total K-12 school population in America, they make up 25 percent of K-12 victims of gunfire at school.

The Far-reaching Impact of Children’s and Teens’ Exposure to Gun Violence

4. Children and Guns (aacap.org)

More than 3500 children and adolescents die a gun-related death annually, including over 1200 deaths by gun suicide. Gun violence is a public health crisis that is increasingly affecting America’s children.

Increasing gun ownership in American homes facilitates youth access to guns. One third of all homes in the United States have guns and nearly 65 million Americans own guns. When guns are in the home, the risk of death by homicide and suicide as well as unintentional injury is four times higher.

5.Gun Safety (nationwidechildrens.org) A gun in the home can be very dangerous, especially for children. Every year, nearly 1,300 children die from guns and many more are seriously injured. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes the best way to prevent gun-related injuries to children is to remove guns from the home. However, if you choose to keep a gun in the house, it is important that it is unloaded and locked, and the ammunition is stored and locked in a separate location.
• Nearly 1,300 children younger than 18 years of age die from shootings every year.
• 1 in 3 families with children have at least one gun in the house. It is estimated that there are more than 22 million children living in homes with guns.
• Most of the victims of unintentional shootings are boys. They are usually shot by a friend or relative, especially a brother.
• Nearly 40% of all unintentional shooting deaths among children 11-14 years of age occur in the home of a friend.
• Adolescents are at a higher risk for suicide when there is a gun in the home

6.US vs the world: Gun culture, laws and mass shootings - CNN
The US was home to 4% of the world’s population but accounted for 44% of global suicides by firearm in 2019
The country recorded the largest number of gun-related suicides in the world every year from 1990 to 2019
While personal safety tops the list of reasons why American gun owners say they own a firearm, 63% of US gun-related deaths are self-inflicted.
At six firearm suicides per 100,000 people, the US rate of suicide is, on average, seven times higher than in other developed nation
Studies, conducted by researchers at Stanford University, found that men who owned handguns were almost eight times as likely to die of self-inflicted gunshot wounds as men who didn't own a gun. Women who owned handguns were 35 times as likely to die by firearm suicide, compared to those who didn't, according to the 2020 study, which surveyed 26 million California residents over a more than 11-year period.
 

Velandy Manohar, MD.,
Distinguished Life Fellow, Am. Psychiatric Association,
Founding Member of Community Resilience Collaborative of Mx. County, CT focused on Childhood Trauma,
Member, Advisory and Review Board- Whiting Forensic Hospital,
Member- CT. State Medical Society - Ethics, Quality of Care, Disaster Preparedness Committees.
Member, Medical Advisory Board of Commissioner of DMV- CT
Past Steering Committee and Founding member of Psychotherapy Caucus of the APA,
Member, Mx. County Coalition for Children-CT
Chair, Community Engagement and Outreach Standing Committee of Community Advisory Council of Office of Health Strategy-CT