It’s a sad truth that’s affecting our neighborhood. Children and teenagers continue to be disproportionately affected by gun vioIence. In 2020, it became more common than car accidents, and analysts predict that this upward trend will continue.
It has recently been labeled a “public health problem” by medical professionals and advocates. Each year, 116 Missouri children and teenagers are k!lled by firearms, as reported by the CDC. Murder accounts for almost 60% of those fatalities.
There needs to be a shift, according to Cathy Gilbert, a volunteer with Women’s Voices Rising for Social Justice’s Lock It for Love initiative.
“Being avoidable only adds to the horror. That’s the message, if you ask me, that needs to be broadcast across the neighborhood “as she put it. A problem that has been called a “national plague” by many is still very much with us as we usher in the New Year.
The director of a St. Louis clinic that treats victims of gun vioIence called it a “crisis,” and Dr. LJ Punch agreed.
“For kids under the age of 18, it’s the leading k!ller. That changed in 2021, therefore how can we as a society disregard the fact that it is the leading cause of dea†h for American youth? “His words.
Gun VioIence Archive reports a 5% rise in child injuries and fatalities caused by firearms between 2021 and 2022. 140 children under the age of 17 were k!lled by firearms in 2022, according to data compiled by 5 On Your Side. Eighteen of them perished.
Dr. Punch claims that his number of pediatric patients has grown steadily over time.
“This disease process, this social event, this spiritual crisis, this emotional load has a name, and it demands to care,” he stated. Gilbert claims that in the past year, 310 children were sh0t unintentionally in the United States, with 133 of them losing their lives.
That’s why she and others who care about preventing gun vioIence are so adamant that all gun owners have access to gun locks.
Read further about vioIence-related topics here:
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Locking and securing firearms will lower the number of firearm-related dea†h in the United States, which now ranks first in the world, as stated by Gilbert. She argued that people who own firearms should put them away safely to prevent the needless dea†h of young people.
Gilbert stated, “It impacts all of our communities; we are all scarred by it.” She feels that talking about trauma is important.
“Share your thoughts and concerns with others about this health catastrophe. This is something we must discuss. It’s important that we let people know that this is happening here and that there are things they can do to help stop gun vioIence “I quote Gilbert.
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