Washington, DC—The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine expressed their disappointment in today’s Supreme Court 5-4 decision that will likely overturn the city of Chicago’s handgun ban, saying it undermines efforts to protect children and adolescents from preventable injuries and death.
“As pediatricians, too often we see the terrible toll gun violence takes on its youngest victims,” said AAP President Judith S. Palfrey, MD, FAAP. “Today’s Supreme Court decision is a tragedy for children, taking away a critical law needed to fight a public health threat that needlessly claims almost 3,200 children every year in America. We can’t afford to lose any of the tools that can help keep guns out of the reach of children.”
Earlier this year, AAP and SAHM, along with other organizations dedicated to protecting the health and safety of children, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the city of Chicago’s handgun law. The brief summarized research demonstrating the special threat that handguns pose to children, particularly in terms of increased risk of homicide and suicide. The full amicus curiae brief is available online at http://www.chicagoguncase.com/wpcontent/uploads/2010/01/no-08-1521bsacocpphswb.pdf.
“The Society of Adolescent Health and Medicine believes that firearm violence is one of the most serious threats to the health of adolescents in the United States,” said SAHM President Lawrence D’Angelo, MD, MPH. “For that reason, the Society supports laws to reduce the availability of handguns—the primary source of firearm injuries among adolescents.”
In the wake of today’s decision, AAP and SAHM urged parents across the United States to take steps to protect their children from firearm violence, including locking up weapons stored at home. “The best way to truly protect children from firearm injuries is to get guns out of their homes, their neighborhoods and where they play,” Palfrey said. “If we don’t, too many children will continue to be hurt or die needlessly.”