Mike Levin: “the debate on how to most effectively combat gun violence frequently centers on the ability of criminals to access…”

“the debate on how to most effectively combat gun violence frequently centers on the ability of criminals to access dangerous firearms. Today, I would like to call my colleagues' attention to another important issue in our fight against gun violence: the ability of our teenagers and children to access firearms. Safe storage and child access prevention laws are critical steps as we seek to reduce the occurrence of accidental shootings and suicides involving guns. Such tragedies have claimed the lives of thousands of young people and destroyed families even though many of these occurrences could have been prevented by common sense legislation. According to a Journal of the American Medical Association study released in 2001, suicide is the third-leading cause of death among youth aged 10 to 19. Between 1976 and 2001, the period of the study, nearly 40,000 youth aged 14 to 20 committed suicide using a gun. The study also found that there was a significant reduction in youth suicide rates in States that had child access prevention laws. Unlike suicide attempts using other methods, suicide attempts with guns are nearly always fatal. These children get no second chance. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence reported in 2004 that teenagers and children are involved in more than 10,000 accidental shootings in which close to 800 people die each year.”