From USA TODAY: New research out of Duke University found that some gun laws can prevent firearm suicides among children and teens. States with safe storage laws and mandatory waiting periods had lower rates of suicide deaths among children 18 and younger.

These same laws did not decrease the risk of kids being murdered by a firearm, the research found.

Lead researcher Dr. Krista Haines is an assistant professor of surgery and population health sciences at Duke University School of Medicine in North Carolina. Haines told USA TODAY there there was a surge in firearm fatalities across the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There's not a lot of interventions out there that we found that worked." said Haines "Looking at what legislation is out there that does actually work, we thought would be a good first start."

Researchers looked at 36 laws in each states to see if any of these gun laws reduced or increased the risk of suicide or homicide among kids 18 and younger.

• What types of gun laws prevented deaths?

Child access prevention laws, safe storage laws and mandatory waiting periods decreased the rate of suicide amongst children and teens, researchers found.

"We know that children are getting guns to kill themselves," said Haines. "It's a huge problem."

More laws that control access to guns among children and teens can help prevent these deaths.

Firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teens in the U.S.

A look at the statistics: Gun violence is a public health crisis, surgeon general says – see: https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2024/06/25/gun-violence-statistics-surgeon-general-warning/74202585007/

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