State Gun Laws and Pediatric Firearm-Related Mortality

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Firearms are the second leading cause of pediatric death in the United States. There is significant variation in firearm legislation at the state level. Recently, 3 state laws were associated with a reduction in overall deaths from firearms: universal background checks for firearm purchases, universal background checks for ammunition purchases, and identification requirement for firearms. We sought to determine if stricter firearm legislation at the state level is associated with lower pediatric firearm-related mortality. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study in which we used 2011-2015 Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System and Census data. We measured the association of the (1) strictness of firearm legislation (gun law score) and (2) presence of the 3 aforementioned gun laws with pediatric firearm-related mortality. We performed negative binomial regression accounting for differences in state-level characteristics (population-based race and ethnicity, education, income, and gun ownership) to derive mortality rate ratios associated with a 10-point change in each predictor and predicted mortality rates. RESULTS: A total of 21 241 children died of firearm-related injuries during the 5-year period. States with stricter gun laws had lower rates of firearm-related pediatric mortality (adjusted incident rate ratio 0.96 [0.93-0.99]). States with laws requiring universal background checks for firearm purchase in effect for $5 years had lower pediatric firearm-related mortality rates (adjusted incident rate ratio 0.65 [0.46-0.90]). CONCLUSIONS: In this 5-year analysis, states with stricter gun laws and laws requiring universal background checks for firearm purchase had lower firearm-related pediatric mortality rates. These findings support the need for further investigation to understand the impact of firearm legislation on pediatric mortality.

Association of designated open water swim area regulations and open water drowning rates

“…Indeed, the number of regulations correlated with drowning rates. Other studies have demonstrated a dose-like effect of regulations on other injury related fatality rates; in a study of firearm legislation, each point increase in a legislative strength score assigned to each state was associated with lower firearm death rates 21 22. The strength of regulations for texting while driving has been associated with lower motor vehicle fatality rates as have stronger regulations for safer driving and driver passenger protection 23–25…”

Rhinovirus C infection, bronchiolitis and recurrent wheeze

“…1 In contrast, over 4000 children a year die in the USA each year from guns, more than from cancer. 2,3 Firearms are the second commonest cause of childhood death in the USA after motor vehicle injury. 2 A US paper suggests that strict gun laws are a major factor in reducing gun-related child deaths.…”

“…2 A US paper suggests that strict gun laws are a major factor in reducing gun-related child deaths. 3 The paper compared paediatric firearm-related mortality over 5 years (2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015) with the strictness of gun laws in different states and found a linear relationship ( Fig. 1): the stricter the gun laws the lower Fig.…”

No Silver Bullet: Firearm Laws and Pediatric Death Prevention

“…Young children at risk for unintentional gun death, women at risk for intimatepartner violence, youth in urban areas at risk for homicide, persons at risk for suicide, and anyone caught at the site of a mass shooting are distinct groups. The effect of legislation on firearm fatalities from different intents and age groups within the pediatric age range was not explored by Goyal et al 3 Further research establishing the relative role of policies targeting gun injury by more narrowly defined age groups and intent is necessary to target specific interventions. As meaningful as universal background checks appear, there is no single silver-bullet policy that will lead to significant reductions in pediatric gun deaths throughout the pediatric age range.…”