Citation

Bell TM, Robbins C, Gosain A. Pediatrics 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, American Academy of Pediatrics)

DOI

10.1542/peds.2020-049746

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In this issue of Pediatrics, Cohen et al.1 address the epidemic of pediatric firearm injuries through the lens of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors utilized the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to identify new gun purchases and the Gun Violence Archive to identify firearm injuries in children under the age of 12. The authors conclude that there has "been a surge in firearm injuries in young children and inflicted by young children" during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors also report these incidents correlate with an increase in new firearm ownership. Finally, the authors suggest that temporary national policies should be enacted to address firearm safety for children in the context of the pandemic.

The study assumes that NICS background checks are a proxy for new firearm ownership. Other studies have found that the increase in NICS background checks was likely in part due to purchases made by first time gun owners, however it is difficult to determine what percentage of firearm purchases were made by new gun owners.2 Increases in firearm sales during the pandemic could be due to various reasons from "boredom shopping" by gun collectors to a response to the increased coverage of violence in the media. Being able to identify the actual number of new gun owners and injury rates in children in their household is necessary to be able to reliably determine whether new gun owners put their children at increased risk for firearm injury. Furthermore, given the prevalence of gun ownership in the United States, new gun owners may be more informed about gun safety, particularly if there are children in the household. In response to the increase in first time gun purchases, the firearm industry launched a number of online safety classes to help educate new gun owners.3 Understanding the motivation for purchasing a firearm and the safety education level of new gun owners during the pandemic, as opposed to existing gun owners, is necessary to propose effective gun safety and education policies...

Language: en