No Silver Bullet: Firearm Laws and Pediatric Death Prevention.

Abstract

Firearm fatality rates in the United States among children and youth 1 to 24 years old have been increasing since 2013, after an overall decline from 1999 to 2012.1,2 The upward trend in pediatric firearm fatalities includes a 32% rise in firearm homicide and a 28% rise in firearm suicide rates.2 A better understanding of effective prevention, such as the role of legislation, is essential in addressing this growing public health crisis. In this issue of Pediatrics , Goyal et al3 analyze the association of pediatric firearm fatality rates with stricter state gun laws in aggregate and with a focus on 3 specific laws. These laws were selected on the basis of work by Kalesan et al,4 in which a multivariate Poisson regression model that included 25 different firearm laws was used to examine the association of these laws with reductions in firearm homicides and suicides. This regression model identified 3 laws associated with decreased firearm deaths: (1) universal background checks for firearm purchase, (2) background checks for ammunition purchase, and (3) firearm identification requirements with microstamping or … Address correspondence to Judy Schaechter, MD, MBA, Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami and Holtz Children’s Hospital, 1601 NW 12th Ave, 9th Floor, Miami, FL 33136. E-mail: jschaechter{at}miami.edu