Gun Deaths of Children Rose in States That Loosened Gun Laws, Study Finds

[applegrove]

Gun Deaths of Children Rose in States That Loosened Gun Laws, Study Finds

Researchers looked at firearm fatalities in the 13 years immediately after the Supreme Court limited local governments’ ability to restrict gun ownership.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/health/gun-deaths-children.html?smid=url-share

By Roni Caryn Rabin

June 9, 2025
Updated 12:39 p.m. ET

Firearm deaths of children and teenagers rose significantly in states that enacted more permissive gun laws after the Supreme Court in 2010 limited local governments’ ability to restrict gun ownership, a new study has found.

In states that maintained stricter laws, firearm deaths were stable after the ruling, the researchers reported, and in some, they even declined.

Guns are the leading cause of death in the United States for people ages 1 through 17, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Jeremy Faust, an emergency room doctor at Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital in Boston, who was the study’s lead author, said he was dismayed to find that most of the children’s deaths were homicides and suicides.

“It’s surprising how few of these are accidents,” Dr. Faust said. “I always thought that a lot of pediatric mortality from guns is that somebody got into the wrong place, and I still think safe storage is important, but it’s mostly homicides and suicides.”

[Norrrm]

1. Dead school children get thoughts and prayers. Guns get protective legislation.

Dead school children get thoughts and prayers. Guns get protective legislation.

[Cha]

2. It doesn't take a genius to figure out WHY..

Fascist Fucks Kill American Children and People of All Ages.

[3catwoman3]

3. Shocking.

Not.

[Mountainguy]

4. Did overall deaths change?

If most were homicides and suicides, then did those rise or was is just a change in method? More gun deaths instead of stabbings, hangings, etc?

Guns make it easier, but they don't give somebody a motivation to kill themselves or someone else on their own.

“I always thought that a lot of pediatric mortality from guns is that somebody got into the wrong place, and I still think safe storage is important, but it’s mostly homicides and suicides.”

I had the same thought going into the article. But unless they are increasing overall deaths, removing them wouldn't change anything.