How gun safety starts at home

Gun violence has become the leading cause of death among children and young adults under the age of 24, surpassing deaths from vehicle collisions since 2017. And while daily headlines highlight news of mass shootings, most gun-related deaths and injuries are preventable and occur in a familiar place – at home.

June is National Gun Violence Awareness Month and the American Academy of Pediatrics is not only calling attention to the sobering statistics, but also offering tools and tips for families, communities and government agencies to help prevent gun violence. Parents can find more information at HealthyChildren.org.

Approximately 80% of firearm-related suicides occur in the home of a young person or family member, with the firearm belonging to the young person or parent or caregiver in 90% of cases. About 40% of U.S. households with children own firearms, with 15% of those storing at least one loaded and unlocked firearm, the storage method with the highest risk.

Between 2015 and 2022, there were at least 2,802 unintentional shootings by children 17 and younger. These resulted in 1,083 deaths and 1,815 non-fatal firearm injuries, almost all of them among children. And at least 895 preschoolers and toddlers managed to find a firearm and unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else during this period.

Firearms are ubiquitous in America, but we do have reason for hope. Research has shown that there are effective ways to prevent or reduce the risks of harm, just as our country has done to improve motor vehicle safety. This is a public health epidemic that we can do something about, through a combination of regulation, legislation, product design, education and individual steps such as safely storing firearms in the home.

Pediatricians are encouraged to counsel families, offer mental health screenings and promote safe storage of firearms as part of routine patient visits. As with other consumer products, the AAP supports regulating firearms for safety purposes and notes that national requirements could be established for safe storage, training, licensing, insurance coverage and registration of persons purchasing firearms.

Extreme Risk Protection (ERPO) laws, also known as “red flag laws,” which prohibit individuals at risk of harm to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing a firearm under court order, are also becoming more common for in states.

If firearms are in the home, evidence shows that the risk of injury or death – both accidental and from deliberate shooting – is significantly reduced if they are stored safely. This means that the firearm must be stored unloaded and locked, out of the reach of children, with the ammunition stored in a separate place where young people do not have access.

For households that store their firearms loaded, gun safes and safes can be used so that curious children or teens at risk of suicide or murder cannot access them without an adult. If there are individuals in the household who are at risk of suicide or homicide, storing firearms outside the home (e.g., a shooting range, a firearms retailer) is another option.

One study found that if 20% of parents who currently store their firearms unlocked were to instead store their firearm and ammunition separately, it would reduce an estimated 122 child gun deaths and 201 injuries nationwide each year.

Even if they are trained not to touch firearms, we know that young children are curious and will often pick up a firearm – and even pull the trigger – when they find it. Wherever your child goes for playdates and vacation this summer (including family members’ homes), be sure to ask how firearms are secured at home.

You can consider this a safety conversation and talk about food allergies and car seats first. And then ask how any firearms are stored in the home. But also consider your other options if you’re concerned about how firearms are stored at home. For example, offer to meet in a park or museum, or at your home.

Ultimately, we will need a multi-pronged approach to substantially reduce the number of gun injuries and deaths among America’s youth. This is a public health epidemic that requires urgent, deliberate action. We have to do better; our children deserve it.

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