World Report Survey: Approximately 30 million children in the United States live in households with guns, but nearly half of them are not properly guarded by gun organizations | Incident | Children
On June 25th, China Daily reported that a 7-year-old child in Jackson County, Kentucky, USA, shot and killed a 5-year-old child at home, which was an accident and there is no suspicion of murder. Children's accidental shooting incidents like this are frequent in the United States, and the proper preservation of firearms has become a major issue.
Fox 56 News, a subsidiary of Fox TV in the United States, reported that a recent nationwide survey by the Rand Corporation's Gun Policy Initiative showed that approximately 30 million children in the United States live in households with firearms. The survey also found that nearly half of the households did not properly lock their firearms.
Screenshot of Fox 56 News website report on the 20th
Kentucky Democratic Representative Morgan McGovery said that 85% of child shooting incidents last year were classified as accidents, "which is a policy failure.". Taking the state as an example, currently only parents or guardians who voluntarily hand over firearms to minors or knowingly refuse to take them away will be sued.
According to data from the Tres and Gifford Legal Center, only 18 states in the United States and Washington D.C. have implemented laws and regulations to prevent children from approaching firearms.
According to a report by CBS News, according to a review of data from 2015 to 2022 by the non-profit organization "Bring Gun Safety to Every Town," accidental shooting incidents among children are most common when they are at home.
Screenshot of CBS News Network's report on the 20th
Some people believe that toddlers and younger children who have just started learning to walk do not have the strength to pull the trigger, but experts say this is not the case. According to data from the organization "Bring Gun Safety to Every Town", from 2015 to 2022, at least 895 children aged 5 and under in the United States found guns and accidentally hit themselves or others.
The report mentioned that as early as 1995, research had found that 25% of children aged between 3 and 4, 70% of children aged between 5 and 6, and 90% of children aged between 7 and 8 had at least 10 pounds of force to pull the trigger with both fingers. Among the 64 handguns tested in this study, over 62% required a trigger pulling force of less than 5 pounds.
Although the organization "Bring Gun Safety to Every Town" cannot determine the types of firearms involved in each incident, 86% of the incidents in which the organization can obtain gun information are handguns. And handguns are the most popular type of firearm in the United States, requiring different forces to pull the trigger and fire. Depending on the model, the minimum force required to pull the trigger can be as low as 1.5 pounds.
Dr. Eric Flegler, a pediatric emergency doctor and researcher at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, pointed out that children are often stronger than many adults think. And if they come into contact with firearms, their shorter arms can also increase the danger of firearms.
"They put their guns against themselves," explained Flegler. "When they pull the trigger, whether the muzzle is aimed at their face, abdomen, or other areas, it will cause harm to themselves and is likely to be fatal because they are still young."
Lewis Lee, Chairman of the Injury, Violence, and Toxic Substances Prevention Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics, also stated that important organs in children's bodies are relatively compact. If they accidentally shoot themselves or are hit by others, they are more likely to suffer damage to multiple important structures, which increases the risk of long-term disability or even death.
According to data from the Gifford Center for the Prevention of Gun Violence Law, approximately 4.6 million minors in the United States reside in households with at least one loaded and unlocked firearm. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in June 2021 found that 40% of American adults live in households with a gun.
Flegler pointed out that having firearms at home is the main risk factor for the death of children at home. He and Dr. Lewis Lee both stated that children often come into contact with firearms out of curiosity, and explaining safety issues to children is not enough to keep them away from firearms.
Hailey Reinhardt, an advocate for the gun control group "Mom Demands Action," emphasizes that while discussing gun safety with children is crucial, adults should take responsibility for keeping guns away from them and "should not shift the blame onto children.".
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