Responsible gun ownership means keeping guns out of the hands of those who may harm themselves or others—including children who commit suicide with an improperly-secured gun. Key statistics make the case: 

• First, gun violence is the #1 killer of US kids and teens. 
• Second, recent increases in firearm deaths were driven by gun assaults, which accounted for two out of three firearm deaths among children and adolescents in 2022.
• Third, 50% of school children aged 14 to 17 are afraid of gun violence occurring in their school, according to CNN. 

Clearly, not nearly enough is being done to protect our kids from gun violence.

Notes a June 2024 CNN report: “Gun violence has become such a prevalent part of American life, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has now issued an advisory calling firearm violence an urgent public health crisis. The advisory notes that half of children ages 14 to 17 worry about school shootings and nearly 60% of them have thought about ‘what would happen if a person with a gun entered’ their school. According to the Gun Violence Archive, last year alone, 1,682 children died and another 4,512 were injured by gun violence.”

Despite overwhelming proof that gun violence is one of the nation’s most dangerous scourges, concerted attempts to justify freewheeling gun rights are everywhere—from the US Supreme Court and Congress to supposed “objective” researchers and the media.

Unbiased, peer-reviewed studies and data from gun violence prevention experts must be the basis for gun violence prevention policy and laws. A comprehensive roadmap based on solid science to cut gun violence significantly is detailed in the Denver Accord.