News released last month angers me, scares me, and breaks my heart all at the same time. I am not alone. Americans in all 50 states, from all walks of life, and of all ages have been sickened to learn that the leading cause of death for children between birth and 18 is not a terminal illness, drowning or some other accident, or a fiery vehicle crash.
It is death by gun shot.
No other cause is even close, as child death by guns rises and rises. Try to process this. Firearm fatalities for children increased by more than 87 percent between 2011 and 2021 and a stunning 50 percent in the 2 years between 2019 and 2021. The non-profit Gun Violence Archive says that 1335 people under 18 have already died by gunshot just this year, putting us on target to more than 5000 children dying by guns in 2024.
Every single one of those children belonged to someone—parents, grandparents, siblings, other caretakers, people whose lives are forever affected by violent and sometimes avoidable death. Some readers of this column have lived this devastating experience in our own community or know someone who has.
No need to take my word for this grim situation. The American Association of Pediatrics, the National Center for Health Statistics, and Pew Research Center’s data analyses along with confirmation from other reputable institutions affirm this grim new reality. It is no comfort to know that North Carolina is one of 10 states where most child gun deaths occur, according to the Children’s Defense Fund.
There are also large disparities in who is most affected by gun deaths. Boys are, especially those between 12 and 17. Black children are nearly 5 times more likely to die from gunshots than white children. And, while children do die by gun suicide, child gun deaths are more likely to be homicides. The opposite is true for adult Americans.
Parents may not be aware of statistical evidence of the problem, but they are worried nonetheless. Urban parents are more worried than their suburban and rural counterparts, and lower-income parents are more concerned than middle and upper-income parents. And like almost every issue in our culture, this one is also split down partisan political lines. Democratic parents are about twice as likely to say they are worried than Republican parents.
All of that said, no one, including this writer, seems to know what to do to protect our children, in some cases from themselves and from each other.
Americans have come to believe that the right to bear arms is sacred to each individual, not just to militias and other organizations. The result is we now have 60 million plus more guns than people, according to the Small Arms Survey, far more than any other nation on God’s green earth. With differing state gun laws, some laxer than others, it is rarely clear where guns are or who possesses them. In reality, they belong to everyone from teenagers to centenarians, legally and illegally.
It is very clear, however, that our guns are killing us and our children, and with polarized and toxic politics fully in control of our government, we are not likely to address our gun issues any time soon.
The rest of the world is watching our failure to protect our children, and we should be deeply, deeply ashamed.