Firearms are involved in three major types of deaths to children:

• Unintentional injuries caused when children hunt or play with guns.

• Teen homicides usually committed by other teens.  

• Teen suicides (described in a separate section).

Unintentional Firearm Deaths

Unintentional injuries from firearms represent less than two percent of all firearm deaths in the U.S.  But of this two percent, children and adolescents are involved in 55% of the deaths.  The majority of the injuries occur to children playing with or showing the weapons to friends. The majority of these deaths occur when children playing with or showing the weapons to friends.

The easy availability of firearms is the number one risk factor for unintentional firearm deaths.  Researchers have found that in 48% of shootings in the U.S., children gained access to guns that were loaded and not locked away.  A Gallup study found that 46% of all U.S. households with children have guns and 25% have handguns, yet it is estimated that 25% of gun owners keep their guns unlocked and loaded.  The 1992 Michigan Behavioral Risk Factor Survey of families found that 46.2% of the respondents reported that they had at least one gun in their home; 23.3% reported that at least some of their guns were unlocked and unloaded with ammunition also unlocked and 6.6% reported that they kept their guns unlocked and loaded.

Michigan law requires that all guns sold have locking devices on them, be sold with a gun case or storage container that can be secured and the dealer must provide free written information on the safe use and storage of firearms in the home environment.  The dealer must also post a notice that states that a person “may be criminally and civilly liable for any harm caused by a person less than 18 years of age who lawfully gains unsupervised access to your firearm if unlawfully stored.”

Public Act 265 of 2000 stipulates that federally licensed firearm dealers shall not sell a firearm in Michigan unless: 

• The sale includes either a trigger lock or other device designed to disable and prevent the discharge of the firearm; or

• The sale includes a gun case or storage container that can be secured to prevent unauthorized access to the firearm; or

• The buyer has in possession at the time of sale a trigger lock or other device, gun case or other storage container for the gun they are purchasing.

The new law also requires federally licensed firearm dealers to include with firearm sales free written information on the safe use and storage of firearms in the home environment.  The dealer must also post a notice that states that a person “may be criminally and civilly liable for any harm caused by a person less than 18 years of age who lawfully gains unsupervised access to your firearm if unlawfully stored.”

Youth Homicides

Youth homicides represent the greatest proportion of all firearm deaths. Most victims of firearm and other weapon homicides in the U.S. are adolescents.  It is the number one cause of violence-related injury death for youths ages 15 and over.  Over the last decade, an average of about nine American youths were killed daily.  In 2003, the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey reported that about 17% of 9^th through 12^th grade students indicated that they had carried a firearm within the previous 30 days for self-defense or to settle disputes.  Overall, the prevalence of having carried a weapon was about four times higher for males than females.

Homicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 15 to 19, nationally. Youth homicide is a serious problem in large urban areas, especially among black males.  Homicide is the number one cause of death for black teens.  Yet when socio-economic status is held constant, differences in homicide rates by race become insignificant.  Major contributing factors in addition to poverty include easy access to handguns, involvement in drug and gang activity, family disruption and school failure.  These homicides usually occur in connection with an argument or dispute. They are almost always committed by acquaintances of the same gender, race and age, using inexpensive, easily acquired handguns.

The recent increase in homicides committed by troubled suburban and rural youth against their peers in school or other public settings has increased awareness of youth violence and the use of guns.  However, despite these highly publicized and tragic events, youth firearm violence has been and continues to be more of a problem of our larger cities, especially among poor, African American males.  Nationally, homicides are the number one cause of death for African American and Hispanic teens.  African American teen males have a homicide rate approximately seven times higher than white teen males. Yet when socioeconomic status is held constant, differences in homicide rates by race are insignificant.  Major contributing factors in addition to poverty include easy access to handguns, involvement in drug and gang activity, family disruption and school failure.  These homicides usually occur in connection with an argument or dispute.  They almost always are committed by casual acquaintances of the same gender, race and age, using inexpensive, easily acquired handguns.

There is a myriad of prevention strategies available to communities to reduce gun violence among youth.  Many of these appear to make sense and are easy to implement.  However, research indicates that preventing youth violence requires complex, long-term solutions.  The research conducted at the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center found that youth homicides are usually clustered in cities.  It is estimated that 10% of the offenders commit 70% of the crime and 10% of a city’s neighborhoods are responsible for 60% of the police calls.  Prevention efforts seem to be most effective when they target this 10% of neighborhoods and youth.

Research supports the belief that the development of violent behavior often follows a life course beginning with poor birth outcomes and continuing to family violence, poor social skills, peer rejection, school failure, delinquency and gang activity and finally death.  Thus violence prevention research has demonstrated that strategies are most effective when they identify high-risk children in their earliest years and intervene at multiple levels through collaborative community partnerships.