Once again, we are sickened by another school shooting and the loss of children and teachers who tried to protect them from being mowed down by an assault weapon in the hands of an 18-year-old boy. This time Uvalde, Texas, is grieving for 19 children and two teachers, and it’s less than two weeks since a shooting in a Buffalo grocery store left 10 dead. Of course, we immediately see the messages from legislators offering their condolences and thoughts and prayers, but no promises to change anything. If not them, then who can?
I remember the awfulness of treating the occasional pediatric gunshot victim when I worked in the ER—usually an unintended target who was caught in crossfire. It was gut-wrenching, the kind of thing that should be a “never-event.” Today, ER nurses, paramedics, and physicians see young gunshot victims far too often. I don’t know how they can do it day after day, trying to comfort parents while dealing with their own trauma.
The leading cause of mortality in children and adolescents.
Firearm deaths are now the leading cause of mortality in children and adolescents (ages 1 to 19 years) in this country, according to a recent analysis by researchers at the University of Michigan reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. How can we continue to do nothing as our children, our families, our neighbors are killed in places where they should be safe: schools, churches, grocery stores, community events?
In 2014, AJN published “Guns and Nurses,” a thoughtful Viewpoint by Mary Narayan on what nurses can do to reduce harms from guns. In 2016, I wrote an editorial after another slew of mass shootings. Sadly, the numbers of the dead and the shootings have only increased. So has frustration with those in Congress who refuse to take action. Their refusal to act on gun safety laws is killing us.
Many people like to hunt; others feel a need to own guns for self-protection. I get that. What I don’t get is readily available assault rifles, high-capacity magazines, the lack of a waiting period and background checks to ensure a gun purchaser is without a mental health or criminal history. Why can’t the ban on assault weapons be reinstated? Or failing that, institute a clear requirements process for those who want to purchase assault weapons, much like drivers of large vehicles must have a commercial license, specialized training, and medical clearance and be over the age of 21. It would seem that the same concern for public safety should extend to the leading cause of death among our children.
Professional and health care organizations unified in call for action.
The American Nurses Association (ANA) calls for supporting bipartisan legislation for universal background checks for gun purchases; the American Medical Association (AMA) declared gun violence a public health hazard in 2016 and has renewed calls for preventive measures since the Uvalde shooting. Other organizations, including the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, the National Association of School Nurses, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), have issued statements. The AAP’s president asks, “When will we as a nation stand up for all of these children? What, finally, will it take, for our leaders in government to do something meaningful to protect them?”
Exactly.
(Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted and may not reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.)
“Saying guns are the cause of deaths and killings is like saying your car causes deaths, dismemberment and serious disabilities.” Agree, but steps have been taken – and been effective – in reducing vehicle caused death, such as mandatory seat belts, reducing speed limits, driver license testing, etc. Gun violence is a complex problem and the new bipartisan legislation is a start. Mental health is a huge issue but many times there’s no history until the shooting. At least by banning assault weapons (or requiring different license and training) or purchasing of hundreds of rounds of ammo would lessen the numbers of people who can be killed/maimed in minutes.
Mental Health facilities and access to them is the better management. Our government has the financial resources but chooses not to develop this significant need for all communities. There are few trained professionals and facilities, plus salaries are next to nothing. Saying guns are the cause of deaths and killings is like saying your car causes deaths, dismemberment and serious disabilities. Gun control has done nothing to help Chicago. Politicians use gun control for control of power. There are hundreds of empty buildings that could be renovated to house the homeless if they agree to treatment plans and medical management, etc. A teenage kid whose parents give him to other relatives to raise should be in treatment for the pain of neglect and abandonment from parents. There is a lot that can be developed to help people in communities far before blaming the gun. The gun is just the source of weapon and there are many other types of “weapons” to utilize, but no weapon will address the root cause of human behavior and emotional pain and scars.
We need to think about HOW? How are we to ensure that background checks are done, and who will approve them to the satisfaction of NO MENTAL health problems? I see loopholes all over this. What about the person who is NOT mentally ill and passes the background check, then commits a mass killing? It’s a conundrum. How will be KNOW the person has a mental illness? I think the ban on assault long guns etc. is a start.
I think raising the age of adulthood in this country needs to be re-evaluated. We all know that the male emotionally matures later than the female. We know from SCIENCE that the human brain is not fully mature until the age of twenty-five.
There are multiple reasons for this mass shooting issue. We need to have supported evidence-based information that guides the policy. If banning guns were the answer– Chicago would not have the highest murder rate in the country.
The answers to this problem are not simple. The answers to this problem are multi-layer. Just as the root issues are multi-layered, I have only mentioned a few.