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Abstract
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Children in North Carolina deserve happy, healthy childhoods, and we focus on working to make sure they have good food, see doctors regularly, and even brush their teeth to give them the right start. But a growing threat to their safety has created a public health crisis for children and adults: firearm deaths.
Five North Carolinians die every day from a firearm and more than 1700 people in North Carolina died by firearm in 2020.1 Shockingly, gunfire has surpassed car accidents as the number one cause of injury deaths for children. A recent report found that in 2021, children in North Carolina were 51% more likely to die from gun violence than children in the United States as a whole.2
Violence is a significant public safety and public health threat, not only because of injury and death but also because of the fear and trauma it inflicts on families and communities. Gun violence, whether intentional (murder or suicide) or unintentional (a child discharging an unsecured firearm) leaves families, communities, and law enforcement begging for answers.
There are solutions that work. There are effective strategies to combat violence that can be coordinated across state and local government, law enforcement, public health, health care, and community organizations.
Language: en |