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9 Statistics That Show Why This Campaign To Keep Guns Safe From Children Is Crucial
When it comes to combating gun violence, it's important to remember that it manifests in many different forms, including some that aren't widely discussed. Frequently, for example, conversations about firearm safety and violence fail to include statistics about children and guns, which indicate that younger populations are particularly vulnerable to injury — or even death because of gun-related injuries.
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the Ad Council, and Droga5 launched a public safety awareness campaign this week called "End Family Fire," which specifically aims to label and help prevent children from being injured by firearms in and around their homes. They're calling it "family fire," and they believe it is a nonpartisan issue.
"The issue that the entire campaign is premised around is something that every American can undertake to affect change," Kris Brown, co-president of the Brady Center, tells Bustle. "It’s not electing someone to Congress, it’s not getting an enforcement agency to crack down on gun dealers who are flouting the law. It’s actually right within our grasp, in our own home, securely within our reach, and it’s safe storage."
Brown and the others behind the campaign want to encourage families to take simple steps to prevent family fire. These steps include taking an inventory of firearms within a household — even those which may be old, or might have been inherited and forgotten about. Next, those firearms should be separated and stored in locked cases. And, Brown says, when it comes to ammunition, it should be stored separately. The only thing left to do is discuss the topic within your community, with people you know, and encourage those with guns to take the same precautions.
Indeed, these are simple steps that could, according to statistics, save many lives. Children are harmed by guns on a daily basis, and often by guns that their parents didn't realize were accessible within their own homes. Relevant data about children and guns backs this up.
1 In 3 Homes With Kids Have Guns
According to the Philadelphia Children's Hospital Research Center, one-third of homes that have children also have a gun.
1.7 Million Children Have Access To Unlocked Guns
The Philadelphia Children's Hospital Research Center further reports that 1.7 million children live in homes where guns are both unlocked and loaded.
U.S. Children Are Killed By Guns At An Alarming Rate
The National Institute of Health (NIH) reports that, among wealthy and industrialized countries, 91 percent of children under the age of 15 who are killed by guns, are killed in the United States.
Many Parents Fail To Hide Their Firearms
The American Medical Association found that, among a group of subjects in Alabama, 39 percent of parents who said their children did not know where they stored their guns were actually wrong. They learned this by privately asking their children the same question.
Gun-Related Injuries Kill Almost 1,300 Children A Year
A study published in the journal Pediatrics last year reported that, between 2012 and 2014, 1,297 children died each year on average from gun-related injuries.
14 States Require Guns Be Kept Away From Children
The Trace reports that only 14 states have laws that require guns be stored so that children cannot access them.
3/4 Of Young People's Gun Injuries Are From Guns In The Home
A study published in Pediatric in 1999 found that over 75 percent of guns that were used in suicide attempts or accidental injuries in people 19 and younger were stored either where they lived, a family member lived, or where a friend lived.
Guns Are The 3rd Leading Cause Of Death Among U.S. Kids
A study published in Pediatrics found that, because so many children are killed by guns each year, guns are the third-leading cause of death among American children.
1 In 20 Kids Have Carried Guns In Public
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance survey found that one in 20 children say they have carried a gun outside of their home.
While preventing gun violence in all its forms is ideal, it's a step-by-step process. When it comes to preventing family fire, however, just about anyone can get on board.
