Gun-Related Injuries and Deaths Are Preventable. We Must Invest in Gun Safety Research |
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Early in my career as a pediatrician, I cared for a preschool-aged boy who, like most young children, had a wonderful sense of curiosity for the world around him. His mother loved how he was bright and inquisitive, fascinated by everything he came across. I will never forget the day I learned that his curiosity led him to find an unsecured firearm at a family member’s home. That discovery took his life.
Since then, I have seen many children who have been killed or seriously injured by firearms. Too many. Every pediatrician in America can tell stories like mine. These “stories” are the worst days of families’ lives, and they are happening every day, in every corner of our country: red states and blue states, cities and small towns, wealthy and working-class communities.
Nationally, firearm-related injuries are the No. 1 cause of death for children and teens, even surpassing car crashes.
I am also a mom, a gun owner and a firearm safety researcher. I........