January 30, 2019 – Gun Deaths and Youth

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Anchor lead: Firearms are a very important factor in causes of death for youth in the US, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Firearms are the second leading cause of death among those between one and nineteen years of age in the United States, a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported. About eight children are killed each day. Patricia Davidson, dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, says this tragedy permeates the lives of all children.

Davidson: What is the impact of this whole gun culture on the psychology of younger children? Every school in the United States has not only faced the anguish of the stories in the media but also had real exercises about active shooters. It just seems to me such a preventable issue. How do you really look at the safety of a child unless you actually ask the parents are there any guns in the house and how are they being stored?    :30

Davidson notes that motor vehicle accidents, the number one cause of death among youth, are falling, while gun violence continues to climb. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.