Too Many Children are Gaining Access to Guns, Here’s What You Need to Know.

Over the last year, with the increase in gun sales and gun violence, more children have gained access to firearms, putting them at risk of unintentional shootings, gun suicide, and gun violence on school grounds. Research from the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, the research and education arm of Everytown for Gun Safety, shows that to protect children and teens, gun owners should store guns locked, unloaded and separate from ammunition. 

Between March and December of 2020, there was a 31 percent increase in unintentional shooting deaths by children of themselves or others, compared to the same time period in 2019. Throughout 2021, children have continued to gain access to guns. In May, a 2-year-old boy found an unsecured firearm on a nightstand and unintentionally shot both his parents in West Bath, Maine. In Lakeland, Fla., a 2-year-old girl was unintentionally shot by her 3-year-old brother using a gun he found unsecured in a couch. Two weekends ago in Memphis, a one-year-old boy was unintentionally shot and killed by another child in a car at a grocery store parking lot.

Firearm suicide by young people has been on the rise for the last decade and is continuing to get worse — and risk of suicide by young people increases with access to unsecured guns. In Texas in 2019, seven-year-old Jeffery Taylor found a gun in his home, and his parents believe he shot and killed himself after he said he was experiencing bullying and racism at school. Research has shown that access to firearms is strongly associated with higher youth (ages 10 to 19) suicide rates: For each 10 percent increase in household gun ownership in a state, the youth suicide rate increased by more than 25 percent.

Over the last month, children have also sought out and gained access to firearms in order to bring them to school. This past Wednesday, a sixth-grader in North Carolina brought a gun to school and threatened classmates, but was disarmed before firing the weapon. Earlier in May in Idaho, a sixth-grade girl brought a gun from home into school and wounded three people. 

Developed by the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund and Moms Demand Action, the Be SMART program helps parents and other adults normalize conversations about gun safety and take responsible actions that can prevent child gun deaths and injuries.

The program encourages parents and adults to: 

• Secure all guns in their home and vehicles
• Model responsible behavior around guns
• Ask about the presence of unsecured guns in other homes
• Recognize the role of guns in suicide
• Tell their peers to be SMART 

For more information on the Be SMART program and how to safely secure your firearms, visit the Be SMART website. Read more about the rise in firearm suicides in youth here. Additional information about unintentional shootings is here.