The number of US children and teenagers who died after sustaining gunshot wounds – mostly from handguns - jumped by nearly 60 percent in a decade, according to new findings.
In addition, around 7,500 children are hospitalized annually
after being injured by gunfire, a figure that increased by more
than 80 percent from 1997 to 2009.
The findings were presented at a conference of the American
Academy of Pediatrics, held in Orlando, Florida on Sunday.
It was estimated that eight out of every 10 gunshot casualties
were caused by handguns, according to medical data reviewed by
the doctors. The doctors then offered their opinion on the
current gun debate, saying the national conversation should
reflect the danger posed by handguns, as opposed to efforts to
revoke the availability of semi-automatic rifles.
“Handguns account for the majority of childhood gunshot wounds
and this number appears to be increasing over the last
decade,” said lead author Dr. Arin L. Madenci, a surgical
resident at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
“Furthermore, states with higher percentages of household
firearm ownership also tended to have higher proportions of
childhood gunshot wounds, especially those occurring in the
home.”
Madenci and his colleague, Dr. Christopher Weldon, examined
statistics from the Kids' Inpatient Database from 1997, 2000,
2003, 2006 and 2009 for a total of 36 million pediatric hospital
admissions.
During that period, hospitalizations of children and teenagers
aged 20 and younger from gunshot wounds jumped from 4,270 to
7,730. The death of children according to medical reports rose
from 317 in 1997 to 503 in 2009.
The rates of gun ownership in homes with children differed widely
from state to state, with 10 percent of households in New Jersey
having guns, for example, compared to 62 percent in Montana, the
researchers found.
The new findings are certain to aggravate the ongoing gun debate,
which peaked following a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary
School in Newtown, Connecticut that left 20 children and 6 adults
dead.
While supporters of the Second Amendment don’t dispute the new
statistics, they say they should be considered within a larger
context, Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for
the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, told NBC News.
“When you look at the number of people who are alive today or
who didn’t have to be hospitalized because they weren’t a victim
— and the money saved on that — you have to look at that side of
the equation to get good public policy,” Gottlieb said.
The report was correct in pointing to the problem of handguns,
which are used far more often in accidents and crimes than
military-style assault weapons, he added.
“So where the doctors are saying the debate should be more in
that direction, I wouldn’t disagree with that,” Gottlieb
said.