Guns are the leading cause of death for children in the United States, and a new Northeastern University study finds at least 6.7 million American kids live in a home with at least one unlocked and loaded firearm. The study also finds that parents tend to store their firearms more securely when there are pre-teenaged children in their home than when children are older, despite teenagers being more at risk of death from firearms. The fatality rate from firearms among children ages 12 to 17 is 7.5 per 100,000 while it is 0.6 for children ages 11 and younger, according to KFF, an independent source for health policy research, polling and news.
“Guns are easier to access for kids who are moving into the age group where they’re much more at risk for using a gun to hurt themselves or others,” said Matthew Miller, university distinguished professor of health sciences and epidemiology and public health and health sciences and the lead author of the study. “It’s moving in a perverse direction.”
