ORLANDO, Fl – June is National Gun Violence Awareness Month. Last year, Americans purchased more than 16.5 million guns. Among 64 high-income countries, the United States stands out for its high levels of gun violence. In 2022, more than 20,000 people died from firearm deaths, excluding suicides -- of those, 1,676 were children.
Washington University Pediatrician Emergency Physician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital Lindsay Clukies said it’s becoming all too common to see kids with bullet wounds.
“We see multiple kids every week, um, sometimes more than one in a day. it’s up to us to put a barrier between a child and a firearm,” said Clukies.
That’s why they spearheaded a program called “No Questions Asked,” in their Level One trauma hospital.
“It’s a very simple concept. We put a basket of free gun locks in our triage waiting room,” Clukies said.
According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 85% of unintentional firearm deaths among children could have been prevented if the firearm had been stored with a gun lock.
“I always say that the scream of a parent or a guardian or a caregiver, um, once we tell them that their child is shot and not survived, is something that I can’t describe. It’s something that I’ll never forget,” Clukies said.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation also recommends using gun locks. They offer free gun locks to gun owners nationwide through their Project Child Safe program.
To find out how to get a free gun lock in your neighborhood, go to projectchildsafe.org.