A new study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics found that over 7,000 more children died from firearm-related injuries in the years following a 2010 Supreme Court decision that gave states greater power to set their own gun laws. Most of those deaths occurred in states that opted to make it easier to purchase and carry firearms.
The study, led by Dr. Jeremy Faust, an emergency medicine doctor with Mass General Brigham, found a sharp increase in gun-related deaths among children and teens up to 17 years old beginning in 2011, following the 2010 McDonald v. Chicago decision, which ruled that the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms was applicable to all states and municipalities and ultimately overturned municipal handgun bans like the one previously enforced in Chicago.
Over the 12-year post-decision period, researchers estimate more than 6,000 excess deaths occurred in states with the most permissive gun laws. Another 1,400 excess deaths occurred in states that made their laws more permissive but were not in the most extreme group.
Meanwhile, California, New York, Maryland and Rhode Island — all of which had strict laws — saw significant drops in pediatric gun deaths.
The increase in deaths was not part of a broader rise in youth mortality, it was specific to firearms.
This wasn’t just about overall violence going up, Faust told ABC News. The change in gun deaths was far greater than any other trend the study looked at, including deaths involving motor vehicle accidents, overdose and even cancer, he said.
Firearms are now the leading cause of death in children and teens in the United States, a distinction not seen in other developed countries. During the 25-year study period, guns were involved in 4% of all pediatric deaths, outpacing motor vehicle crashes and cancer.