Over and over again, we see numerous claims that guns are the leading killer of children. The primary study being cited, however, includes 18- and 19-year-olds in their numbers, thus driving up the count, all while excluding children under the age of one.

Awfully convenient, don’t you think?

But that was then. We now have a new study that makes the same claim, and we’re going to take a bit of a look at it.

A new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions shows firearms were the leading cause of death in 2022 for children and teens ages 1 to 17.

According to the report, 48,204 people were killed by a firearm that year, the second-highest number ever recorded and an average of 132 per day. The study found 2,526 of those who died were children and teenagers, an average of seven each day, and firearms accounted for 30% of all deaths among those ages 15 to 17. Overall, the gun death rate for children and teens has increased 106% since 2013.

Well, I looked at the study in question, and what I saw didn’t exactly fill me with confidence that this was unbiased research.

For one thing, this conflicts with the CDC’s data on child deaths, at least as it relates to ages one to 14. 

But it’s at ages 15 through 17 that we start to get to the meat of the issue. That’s where childhood firearm-related homicides start to skyrocket, according to the study and that’s not included in CDC’s data, right?

Well, not at that link, anyway. They do have the information, and guess what? It has unintentional injuries as the leading cause of death in adolescents, or those age 15-17.

Now, we know the CDC isn’t exactly pro-gun, so that’s kind of a big deal. And this is for 2022, the same year the Johns Hopkins study covers.

Further, let’s talk about those gun-related homicides for adolescents. One thing no one seems to be asking is, “How many of these homicides are carried out with a legally purchased firearm?” In other words, did the killer lawfully obtain the gun used?

The answer to that is going to be a resounding no in most cases. There’s a strong black market for guns and there always will be. The criminal underclass wants guns and laws aren’t going to stop them.

And that’s where most of these teen homicides come from.

At around 14 or so, you start seeing kids interacting with older kids through high school. This is normal and generally not a massive issue. However, in some environments, that means dealing with young criminals. It only gets worse as they get older, like to around age 15 and up.

Either the victims here were involved in crime themselves in the form of gang affiliation or they’re interacting with those who are and who think the only way to earn respect is with a firearm.

A small percentage of others are just unfortunate bystanders, admittedly, but most are in the above categories. 

In none of them, however, are a large portion of the killers lawful gun owners. They usually can’t own the guns they’re using, either because of age or felony convictions.

As a result, that doesn’t make it into these studies because it’s inconvenient to the narrative being pushed.

So no, I won’t be adjusting my views based on this evidence, especially as it runs contrary to the anti-gun CDC’s data.