Looser gun laws tied to thousands more US child shooting deaths
Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and lead author of the paper in JAMA Pediatrics, told AFP he was drawn to the topic as a father wondering whether today's world is safer for children than when he was growing up.
"Mortality from car accidents has fallen dramatically, but at the same time, firearm mortality rose and replaced car accidents as the leading cause of death in children over the age of one," he said -- a trend unique among peer nations.
To probe this shift, Faust and his colleagues analyzed state-level data before and after McDonald v Chicago, the 2010 Supreme Court decision that extended the Second Amendment to state and local governments.
The ruling sparked a wave of legislation, some tightening gun laws but much of it loosening them.
The team grouped states into three categories -- most permissive, permissive, and strict -- and used Centers for Disease Control data on firearm deaths among children aged 0–17.
They ran an "excess mortality analysis," comparing actual deaths from 2011 to 2023 against projections based on prior trends from 1999 to 2010 and population growth.
The results were stark: more than 7,400 excess pediatric firearm deaths in states that loosened gun laws -- including over 6,000 in the most permissive group of states.
By contrast, the eight strictest states overall saw no excess deaths. The model predicted 4,267 fatalities, while 4,212 were recorded -- a near-match that bolstered confidence in the analysis.
"The biggest thing people always want to know is, what's the intent behind these?" said Faust.
"And I think what surprises most people is that accidents are a very small number of these deaths -- it's mostly homicide and suicide."
While the study showed strong associations, it cannot prove causation -- a key limitation.
But in a test of whether broader increases in violence might explain the trend, rather than changes to the law, the team analyzed non-firearm homicides and suicides and found no similar rise, a result that makes the findings "pretty compelling," said Faust.
Black children saw the steepest increases. While the reasons are unclear, the authors speculated that disparities in safe firearm storage could play a role.
There were some exceptions. Deaths rose in Illinois and Connecticut despite tighter laws -- though in the latter case, the spike was entirely attributable to the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting at an elementary school.
"Big picture, we have a major problem in this country," said Faust.
"But we also have a handful of states that are resisting these increases and, in fact, turning the other direction."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
US-backed Gaza aid group says people 'desperately need more aid'
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operations at the end of May when Israel eased a two-month blockade on Gaza that the United Nations said had produced famine-like conditions. The foundation's operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and neutrality concerns, while many Gazans have been left with few other options to obtain food. In a statement on Saturday, GHF interim executive director John Acree said that the organisation was "delivering aid at scale, securely and effectively... But we cannot meet the full scale of need while large parts of Gaza remain closed." He added: "The people of Gaza desperately need more aid and we are ready to partner with other humanitarian groups to expand our reach to those who need help the most." "We are working with the government of Israel to honour its commitment and open additional sites in northern Gaza." According to figures issued on Saturday by the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, at least 450 people have been killed and nearly 3,500 injured by Israeli fire while seeking aid since late May, many near GHF sites according to rescuers. GHF has denied responsibility for deaths near its aid points, contradicting statements from witnesses and Gaza rescue services. It has said deaths have occurred near UN food convoys. Gaza's civil defence agency said Saturday that Israeli troops had killed another eight people who were seeking food. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that three people were killed by gunfire in the southern Gaza Strip, with another five killed in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving rations from a GHF centre. Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. On Tuesday, the UN's World Health Organization pleaded for fuel to be allowed into Gaza to keep its remaining hospitals running, warning the Palestinian territory's health system was at "breaking point".
LeMonde
2 days ago
- LeMonde
Gaza rescuers say 12 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, including eight waiting for food
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed at least 12 people on Saturday, including eight who had gathered near aid distribution sites in the Palestinian territory suffering severe food shortages. Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told Agence France-Presse that three people were killed by gunfire from Israeli forces while waiting to collect aid in the southern Gaza Strip. In a separate incident, Bassal said five people were killed in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving food rations. The Israeli military told AFP it was "looking into" both incidents, which according to the civil defence agency occurred near distribution centres run by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Its operations began at the end of May – when Israel eased a total aid blockade that lasted more than two months – but have been marred by chaotic scenes and neutrality concerns. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said on Saturday that 450 people had been killed and 3,466 others injured while seeking aid in near-daily incidents since late May. The Israeli blockade imposed in early March amid an impasse in truce negotiations had produced famine-like conditions across Gaza, according to rights groups. Israel's military has pressed its operations across Gaza for more than 20 months since an unprecedented Hamas attack triggered the devastating war, and even as attention has shifted to the war with Iran since June 13. Bassal told AFP that three people were killed on Saturday in an Israeli air strike on Gaza City in the north, and one more in another strike on the southern city of Khan Yunis. Israeli forces also demolished more than 10 houses in Gaza City "by detonating them with explosives," he added. Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas make it difficult to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities.
France 24
2 days ago
- France 24
Gaza rescuers say Israeli fire kills 8 near aid centres, 4 others
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that three people were killed by gunfire from Israeli forces while waiting to collect aid in the southern Gaza Strip. In a separate incident, Bassal said five people were killed in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving food rations. The Israeli army told AFP it was "looking into" both incidents, which according to the civil defence agency occurred near distribution centres run by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Its operations began at the end of May -- when Israel eased a total aid blockade that lasted more than two months -- but have been marred by chaotic scenes and neutrality concerns. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said on Saturday that 450 people had been killed and 3,466 others injured while seeking aid in near-daily incidents since late May. The Israeli blockade imposed in early March amid an impasse in truce negotiations had produced famine-like conditions across Gaza, according to rights groups. Israel's military has pressed its operations across Gaza more than 20 months since an unprecedented Hamas attack triggered the devastating war, and even as attention has shifted to the war with Iran since June 13. Bassal told AFP that three people were killed on Saturday in an Israeli air strike on Gaza City in the north, and one more in another strike on the southern city of Khan Yunis. Israeli forces also demolished more than 10 houses in Gaza City "by detonating them with explosives", he added. Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities. Earlier this week, the UN's World Health Organization warned that Gaza's health system was at a "breaking point", pleading for fuel to be allowed into the territory to keep its remaining hospitals running. The Hamas attack in October 2023 that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 55,908 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The UN considers these figures reliable.
