Looser gun laws tied to thousands more US child shooting deaths
Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and lead author of the paper in JAMA Pediatrics, told AFP he was drawn to the topic as a father wondering whether today's world is safer for children than when he was growing up.
"Mortality from car accidents has fallen dramatically, but at the same time, firearm mortality rose and replaced car accidents as the leading cause of death in children over the age of one," he said -- a trend unique among peer nations.
To probe this shift, Faust and his colleagues analyzed state-level data before and after McDonald v Chicago, the 2010 Supreme Court decision that extended the Second Amendment to state and local governments.
The ruling sparked a wave of legislation, some tightening gun laws but much of it loosening them.
The team grouped states into three categories -- most permissive, permissive, and strict -- and used Centers for Disease Control data on firearm deaths among children aged 0–17.
They ran an "excess mortality analysis," comparing actual deaths from 2011 to 2023 against projections based on prior trends from 1999 to 2010 and population growth.
The results were stark: more than 7,400 excess pediatric firearm deaths in states that loosened gun laws -- including over 6,000 in the most permissive group of states.
By contrast, the eight strictest states overall saw no excess deaths. The model predicted 4,267 fatalities, while 4,212 were recorded -- a near-match that bolstered confidence in the analysis.
"The biggest thing people always want to know is, what's the intent behind these?" said Faust.
"And I think what surprises most people is that accidents are a very small number of these deaths -- it's mostly homicide and suicide."
While the study showed strong associations, it cannot prove causation -- a key limitation.
But in a test of whether broader increases in violence might explain the trend, rather than changes to the law, the team analyzed non-firearm homicides and suicides and found no similar rise, a result that makes the findings "pretty compelling," said Faust.
Black children saw the steepest increases. While the reasons are unclear, the authors speculated that disparities in safe firearm storage could play a role.
There were some exceptions. Deaths rose in Illinois and Connecticut despite tighter laws -- though in the latter case, the spike was entirely attributable to the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting at an elementary school.
"Big picture, we have a major problem in this country," said Faust.
"But we also have a handful of states that are resisting these increases and, in fact, turning the other direction."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
Looser gun laws tied to thousands more US child shooting deaths
Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and lead author of the paper in JAMA Pediatrics, told AFP he was drawn to the topic as a father wondering whether today's world is safer for children than when he was growing up. "Mortality from car accidents has fallen dramatically, but at the same time, firearm mortality rose and replaced car accidents as the leading cause of death in children over the age of one," he said -- a trend unique among peer nations. To probe this shift, Faust and his colleagues analyzed state-level data before and after McDonald v Chicago, the 2010 Supreme Court decision that extended the Second Amendment to state and local governments. The ruling sparked a wave of legislation, some tightening gun laws but much of it loosening them. The team grouped states into three categories -- most permissive, permissive, and strict -- and used Centers for Disease Control data on firearm deaths among children aged 0–17. They ran an "excess mortality analysis," comparing actual deaths from 2011 to 2023 against projections based on prior trends from 1999 to 2010 and population growth. The results were stark: more than 7,400 excess pediatric firearm deaths in states that loosened gun laws -- including over 6,000 in the most permissive group of states. By contrast, the eight strictest states overall saw no excess deaths. The model predicted 4,267 fatalities, while 4,212 were recorded -- a near-match that bolstered confidence in the analysis. "The biggest thing people always want to know is, what's the intent behind these?" said Faust. "And I think what surprises most people is that accidents are a very small number of these deaths -- it's mostly homicide and suicide." While the study showed strong associations, it cannot prove causation -- a key limitation. But in a test of whether broader increases in violence might explain the trend, rather than changes to the law, the team analyzed non-firearm homicides and suicides and found no similar rise, a result that makes the findings "pretty compelling," said Faust. Black children saw the steepest increases. While the reasons are unclear, the authors speculated that disparities in safe firearm storage could play a role. There were some exceptions. Deaths rose in Illinois and Connecticut despite tighter laws -- though in the latter case, the spike was entirely attributable to the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting at an elementary school. "Big picture, we have a major problem in this country," said Faust. "But we also have a handful of states that are resisting these increases and, in fact, turning the other direction."
France 24
5 days ago
- France 24
Albania town where everything's coming up roses
"Here everything revolves around roses, from cooking with them to their medicinal virtues" -- everything is seen through rose-tinted glasses, joked biology teacher Ariana Nikolla. Since she was little, the 57-year-old has been delicately picking the petals of her favourite variety, "the Groom's Rose", named for its delicate scent. In Permet roses are a ritual -- the first gift to a would-be lover. And they have to be pink, symbolising love and fidelity. Every family cultivates dozens of rose varieties in their garden, including the highly perfumed Damask and Provence roses, making the town famous across the Balkans for its artisanal rose water. Yet it is almost impossible to buy -- it is just too valuable, say locals, who gift a few drops from time to time and jealously guard their reserves. 'Rose water is like love' "Rose water is like love, it must be carefully tended," said veteran maker Resmie Tuci. "The process of making high-quality rose water is difficult and meticulous. It requires very particular copper containers and you also have to use the right roses and select the ones with the most fragrant petals," said the 70-year-old. The traditional method, passed from one generation to the next, is listed in Albania's national inventory of intangible cultural heritage. First you stretch a cloth over a copper bowl laced with thread, itself placed inside a large, flat-bottomed basin filled with water. Then the hand-picked rose petals are carefully placed on the cloth and covered with a flat stone topped with hot ashes from a fire. The petals sweat underneath and yield up their precious rose water through condensation. "It's a process that takes hours," Tuci told AFP. "But every drop is precious," chimes in Nikolla, filling a small bottle with rose water, which she will put in a sunny spot for several weeks before it is ready. "It's as precious as gold," she added. - Sweet delights - Locals use it for its supposed benefits, from soothing irritated eyes to an anti-inflammatory cream to help calm itching. And, of course, in cooking. Eftali Qerimi, 63, swears by it. The almond rose water cakes she bakes in her workshop are unlike any other local "llokums". Made with only almond powder, sugar and rosewater, the rose-shaped fancies mark important events for families in the region. Considered lucky charms, they are served at birthdays, weddings and baby showers. With the women in her workshop, Qerimi produces up to 10 kilos of Turkish delights a day, which she sells at 50 euros a kilo. Occasionally she makes small ones shaped like baby feet -- a way, according to tradition, to wish newborns a long life. Between batches, the women make rose petal jam, its fragrance filling the workshop. "The rose is everything for us; it symbolises the heart, love and life's happiness," said Qerimi, who is hard at work with the tourism high season about to begin. "Tourists flock to the town and after the natural beauties" of the valley, with its famous gorges and natural park, "they also want to taste its culinary delights", she smiled.
France 24
6 days ago
- France 24
Saudis use AI, drones and thousands of cameras to keep hajj pilgrims safe
The technology has proven pivotal to track the overwhelming amount of footage from more than 15,000 cameras in and around the holy city of Mecca. The systems are tuned to spot abnormal crowd movements or predict bottlenecks in foot traffic -- a potential life-saver at a packed event with a history of deadly stampedes. Software is also used to help guide more than 20,000 buses deployed to transport pilgrims between holy sites during one of the world's biggest annual religious gatherings. It is all part of the tech arsenal that Saudi Arabia is deploying as 1.4 million faithful from across the globe descend on Mecca and its surrounds. "In our traffic control room, we use specialised cameras that have AI layers to analyse movements, crowded areas" and predict behaviours, said Mohamed Nazier, chief executive officer for the General Transport Centre at the Royal Commission for Mecca. The centre has a main control room in Mecca filled with screens and maps, where staff use high-tech tools including AI for round-the-clock monitoring. About a dozen staff members sit in rows before desktop computers with a large display at the front, zooming in on crowd movements around the holy sites. On hillsides nearby, cameras that resemble little white robots film buildings, roads and pathways along the hajj route, which winds more than 20 kilometres (12 miles) between Mecca and Mount Arafat. Nazier said the constant monitoring is aimed at averting traffic collisions with pedestrians on crowded routes while also making sure there are buses available to minimise walking time in the desert heat. 'Our eye on the ground' It is a decade since the hajj suffered its worst disaster, a stampede that killed up to 2,300 people during the "stoning of the devil" ritual. Hundreds also died in stampedes in 2006, 1998 and 1994. In 1990, 1,426 pilgrims were trampled to death or asphyxiated when a tunnel ventilation system failed. With its cutting-edge technology, "the control room is our eye on the ground," said Mohammed al-Qarni, who oversees the hajj and the year-round umrah pilgrimage at the transport centre. Artificial intelligence helps to determine "the flow on the (roads to the holy sites), and detects emergency situations even before they occur", he told AFP, adding that the technology can help assess the number of people in a single place. Cameras and AI can estimate if a site has reached maximum capacity, allowing authorities to divert the flow of pilgrims, Qarni said. During the holy month of Ramadan this year, the system spotted when the Grand Mosque had reached full capacity. "The flow to the Haram (Grand Mosque) was stopped and the process controlled," he said. Thermal imaging The use of advanced technology extends beyond logistics, also tracking unregistered pilgrims, who accounted for most of the 1,301 deaths in sweltering conditions last year. As temperatures soared to 51.8 degrees Celsius (125.2 Fahrenheit) last year, unauthorised worshippers who lack access to air-conditioned tents and buses bore the brunt. Temperatures are forecast to top 40C this week. The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, must be completed by all Muslims with the means at least once. Yet not everyone is able to secure or afford one of the official permits, which are allocated to countries by quota and awarded to individuals by lottery. To try to stop anyone sneaking in this year, a fleet of camera-equipped drones is monitoring entrances into Mecca. "We use artificial intelligence and other tools like drones and thermal imaging cameras," the director general of public security, Lieutenant General Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Bassami, told reporters.
