As the debate over gun policy has once again moved to the forefront following a string of mass shootings, a new report by Everytown for Gun Safety is shedding light on another aspect of gun violence impacting children: suicide.
over gun policy has once again moved to the forefront following a string of mass shootings, a new report by Everytown for Gun Safety is shedding light on another aspect of gun violence impacting children: suicide. , published on Thursday, found that the rate at which children, teens and young adults are dying by suicide by use of a firearm has increased faster than any other age group over the past decade.
The firearm suicide rate for kids between the ages of 10 and 14 increased by 31% from 2019 to 2020 — the highest reported rate for that age group by the CDC since 1968. Over a longer period, from 2011 to 2020, the rate increased by 146%, Everytown found. The report attributed the suicide risk of the age group to a combination of three main factors: life stressors, historical risk factors and access to lethal means of harm.
A priority in preventing these types of deaths, researchers said, is limiting access to firearms in the first place. But further legal steps also play a role. Researchers said laws that allow people to request a court to prevent someone in crisis from accessing guns could be helpful in reducing the rates of suicide, as well as enacting waiting period laws, permit-to-purchase laws and background checks.