• Posted September 27, 2024

One Gun Law Reduces School Shooting Deaths

Laws that ban assault weapons do indeed protect children from dying in mass shootings, but the same can't be said for more common types of gun restrictions and regulations, new research shows.

“Mass shootings are horrific events. We found that large capacity magazine bans may have the biggest effect on reducing child deaths in mass shootings,” said senior study author Dr. Stephanie Chao, an associate professor of surgery-pediatric surgery at Stanford Medicine Children's Health. “We hope that research like ours can help legislators to make informed choices.”

In the United States, firearm-related injuries have become the leading cause of death among children, the researchers noted. Various types of gun legislation have been proposed in different states, yet research is still needed to demonstrate which mass shooting firearm policy is the most effective, especially for children, they added.

Exactly how much difference did these large capacity magazine bans make?

For the eight states that adopted them, the odds of a child being killed during a mass shooting dropped by 91%, according to findings to be presented Sunday at the American Academy of Pediatrics annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

In contrast, the most common gun laws -- which include restrictions on gun purchasing or the possession of firearms around children in a school setting -- failed to lower child deaths due to mass shootings.

For the study, researchers focused on 131 pediatric mass shootings from 2009 to 2020. During that period, large capacity magazine bans had been adopted by only eight states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Vermont) Now, 14 states have such bans, the researchers noted.

Mass shootings are defined as those with at least four recorded deaths in which one or more of the victims was under the age of 21, according to the Everytown for Gun Safety database.

In examining which gun laws might have the greatest effect, researchers looked at 10 categories of gun violence prevention laws: assault rifle bans; large capacity magazine bans; permit requirements; extreme risk protection (gun violence restraining orders); universal background checks; concealed carry discretionary laws; gun possession; violent misdemeanor history; pediatric population; and child access barriers.

Only the large capacity magazine bans made a dent in child deaths due to mass shootings.

The authors noted the study was limited to the effects on pediatric mass shootings and should not be applied to all pediatric or adult firearm-related deaths. Also, research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The KFF has more on gun violence and kids.

SOURCE: American Academy of Pediatrics, news release, Sept. 27, 2024