Increase in youth gun fatalities in regions with relaxed regulations

Child fatalities involving firearms have surged following a 2010 Supreme Court decision that prompted certain state and local administrations to ease their gun regulations, as per a recent study by Mass General Brigham.

Firearms rank as the primary cause of death among youth in the U.S., yet there is limited understanding regarding the influence of gun laws on child mortality rates. To explore this, the researchers assessed whether gun fatalities among youth had altered in the aftermath of a Supreme Court decision that extended the Second Amendment to state and local jurisdictions.

They discovered that in states with the least restrictive regulations, there were 6,029 more child deaths attributable to firearms than anticipated, based on prevailing demographic patterns — along with over 1,400 additional fatalities in states with lenient gun laws. In contrast, rates either remained stable or decreased in jurisdictions with stricter regulations. The findings are documented in JAMA Pediatrics.

“We identified over 7,400 additional pediatric fatalities related to firearms than would have been projected,” stated first author Jeremy Faust, an emergency medicine doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and educator at Harvard Medical School. “When comparing to other mortality causes, including non-firearm-related homicides and suicides, we did not observe similar variations. This indicates that the differences in firearm regulations are significant.”

The research classed states as either most lenient, lenient, or strict based on gun ownership and usage policies, comparing their pediatric firearm death rates before the ruling (from 1999-2010) and after (2011-2023). The researchers noted that disparities in pediatric firearm fatalities among Black youth rose in lenient states and persisted, but did not grow, in jurisdictions with stricter regulations. The team intends to present their insights to policymakers and stakeholders and aspires to facilitate future studies to determine which specific regulations are most impactful.

“Tackling the crisis of pediatric firearm fatalities necessitates unified efforts and policy alterations,” expressed Onyekachi T. Otugo,  a co-author of the study and an emergency medicine doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “Firearm regulations genuinely make a difference for the collective safety of children.”