Gun violence in the home, whether accidental or intentional, is a significant contributor to a rise in deaths among youth. No wonder, then, that in June, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared gun violence a public health crisis that required urgent action. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 85% of firearm deaths among children up to 12 years old occur in the home. The rate is 39% for children ages 13-17. In fact, in 2020, firearms became the leading cause of death among children and adolescents ages 19 and younger in the United States, surpassing vehicle crashes for the first time. The change was due in part to a decreasing number of vehicle crash deaths. At the same time, the number of firearm-related suicides and homicides increased among ages 15-25. According to Brady United, a gun violence prevention organization, 4.6 million children in the U.S. live in homes with unlocked or unsupervised firearms, leading to thousands of child injuries and deaths annually.
“Across the county, if you look at unintentional shootings alone, eight kids a day are injured or killed,” says Colleen Creighton, senior director of Brady United’s End Family Fire program, which promotes safe gun storage in the home. “And firearm suicides among children have increased by 57% over the past decade. We have to get a handle on it.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a multipronged approach to reduce the number of firearm deaths among children. Measures include proper firearm storage, education, community- and hospital-based interventions and more funding for research.
Dr. Edward Barksdale Jr., surgeon in chief at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland and professor of surgery at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, co-founded
University Hospitals’ Antifragility Initiative in 2019, which helps children, adolescents and their families heal after violent injuries, including those involving guns.
“Everyone needs education about gun safety,” Barksdale says.
Securing weapons
Barksdale says that of child deaths involving guns in the home, 29% occur among children up to 5 years old. The rate drops to 14 percent for children 6-10, rises to 33% for children 11-15 and settles at 23% for children 16-17.
“For an unintentional shooting, it’s usually toddlers and younger children,” Creighton says. “But as you get into the teens, suicide becomes an issue, especially if there’s a gun in the home and a teen is struggling.”
Also, young children are naturally curious. If they find a gun, they will play with it. Further, Barksdale says, about 75% of children know where the family gun is kept. The most common location is a nightstand.
“Guns should be locked and unloaded in safes, and the key, lock or combination should not be available to anyone who might harm themselves,” Barksdale says.
However, The Rand Corp., in a July 2022 report, said that in homes with both children and firearms, only 29% of gun owners locked their weapons and kept them unloaded. Half kept at least one gun either locked and loaded or unlocked and unloaded. Meanwhile, 21% stored at least one gun loaded and unlocked.
The Rand report stated that those who don’t thoroughly secure firearms want to have the weapons easily accessible in case an intruder enters their home.
Creighton says her group, End Family Fire, is telling gun owners that families with guns in the home are four times more likely to harm themselves than stop an intruder.
“It’s an individual decision for each home,” Barksdale says. “But most guns in the home are not discharged for self-protection but for self-harm.”
Guns safes on the market include those with modern technology. Biometric safes will open only if detecting the gun owner’s fingerprints or other biological identifiers. Ammunition should be stored in a separate safe, Barksdale says.
Guns can also be secured using trigger locks, which fit over the trigger mechanism to prevent firing. Cable locks are steel cables threaded through the trigger area.
John Smerglia, assistant special agent in charge of the Columbus Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, says a combination of methods is best.
“You’re creating lawyers of safety,” Smerglia says. “You could have ammunition in one safe and guns in another safe, and you can have trigger locks on the guns. I’ve seen all various levels of securing firearms.”
Educating children
Teaching children about guns is also key, especially for older children who can understand the lesson.
“Just be direct with them,” Smerglia says. “In this day and age, with video games and movies, we have a generation of kids seeing things happen with no consequences. Teach them about the damage firearms can cause. They can end life.”
Barksdale says the National Rifle Association (NRA) offers educational programs about gun safety and hunting.
“In some communities, they will grow up hunting,” Creighton says. “That’s different. But in any case, teach children that a gun is not a toy. Don’t play with it or pick it up without permission or adult supervision. It’s like teaching them not to play with fire or touch a hot stove.”
Even if parents don’t own firearms, it’s important for kids to be aware of guns inside or outside a home.
The NRA’s Eddie Eagle GunSafe program for children shares four steps to take if your child finds a gun. Tell them to “STOP! Don’t touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult.”
Also, parents can ask the parents of their children’s friends if they own guns and if the weapons are safely stored.
“People can feel awkward about it, but be open and transparent,” Creighton says. “We are trying to get more people to have that conversation so it becomes less awkward. It’s just like asking if they have any pets or peanut butter because their kids are allergic.”
Organizations like Brady United and its End Family Fire program are also trying to educate. Their latest campaign, Prepare for Misuse, shows what can happen if kids gain access to unsecured gun at home.
“We include gun owners in all of our campaigns because we are all at the same table,” Creighton says. “We are all trying to save lives. We’re not trying to take your guns away but to keep the guns safe.”
Measuring effectiveness
Do gun safes, locks, educational programs and awareness campaigns work? The Journal of the American Medical Association reported in 2005 that the connection between firearm storage practices and reduced firearm injuries is unclear.
More recently, the Rand study said that emerging evidence indicates that distributing firearm storage devices might improve storage practices but more study was needed. The study said there was less evidence that community-based efforts like educational campaigns are effective.
“It’s hard to prove the effectiveness of many of these measures,” Barksdale says. “But we know in areas where there are intensive programs and where laws are more stringent, the likelihood is fewer gun fatalities.”
Creighton says Brady United has shown that if a parent sees one of its gun safety ads, they are three times more likely to talk to a friend or neighbor about safe gun storage and/or seek additional information, and they are 48% more likely to change where they store a gun.
Nevertheless, everyone agrees that more research is needed.
The New England Journal of Medicine reported in April 2022 that fewer federal dollars were available for firearm-injury prevention research from 1996-2019, due largely to “The Dickey Amendment.” The amendment, part of a 1997 federal law, prohibited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from using federal money to promote gun control.
Congress amended the law in 2018 to clarify that gun violence research was permitted if federal money was involved. Congress funded that research in fiscal year 2020 for the first time since 1996.
“We need to collect more data on gun injury and understand where the problems are and how to message appropriately,” Barksdale says.
Smerglia says common sense is all he needs to know that gun safety measures are effective.
“You don’t see anything in the news about kids getting a gun with a trigger lock from a gun safe,” Smerglia says. “You see the kid who found the gun tucked into the couch cushion. It’s logic.”
