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Breaking News from America's Progressive Community... Latest Releases
Making news? The press releases posted here have been provided to NewsCenter by the one of the many progressive organizations we have selected to participate . If you would like more information about this press release, you should contact the organization directly.
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| OCTOBER 12, 1998
11:26 AM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Childrens Defense Fund Sarah Howe 202-662-3609 |
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| CDF Reports Lowest American Gun Death Toll for Children Since 1989 | ||||
| WASHINGTON -
October 12 - Gunfire killed 4,643 U.S. infants, children and teens in 1996, alarming
figures, yet still the lowest American gun death toll since 1989. These are among the
findings released by the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) using the latest available
unpublished data from the National Center for Health Statistics. "Each one of these
tragic deaths has led to immeasurable pain and grief for children, their families and
communities across the nation, but we do see a glimmer of hope: The total number of young
victims is the lowest it has been in 7 years," said CDF President Marian Wright
Edelman. CDF's analysis of child gun deaths found that: -- In 1996 a child died from gunfire every 114 minutes, down from a peak of one every 91 minutes in 1994. -- More than 37,000 children have been killed by firearms so far in the 1990s. -- The only exception to the decrease was in the number of Black children accidentally killed by guns, which increased by 12 percent. -- For the second year in a row, the number of children killed by firearms declined for all categories: homicide, suicide, accidents, and unknown causes. CDF also found that: -- Gun violence does not exclude even our youngest children. There were 88 children under 5 killed by firearms in 1996. -- There were 134 children murdered before their 10th birthday. -- Gun violence is not a problem limited to race or class. More than half of the children and youths killed by firearms in 1996 were White. "In 1996 gunfire took one less child every day," said Kim Wade, CDF's violence prevention coordinator. "But as we celebrate that so many children were spared, we must never forget the thousands that were not." According to Wade, a number of factors contribute to the drop in child gun deaths, from innovative and effective inner-city programs to common-sense gun regulations. Los Angeles and Boston have both created successful violence prevention programs. In Boston the number of juveniles killed by guns dropped from 10 a year to none for over a year. Wade lists steps families and communities can take to protect children from gun violence: -- Remove all guns from your home, especially if children live or visit there. -- If you do keep guns in the home, store them unloaded and locked where children can't reach them. -- Ask your child's friends' families about guns in their homes. -- Talk to your children about the dangers of guns. Let them know they should tell an adult if they see a gun being used unsafely. -- Provide children with positive, supervised activities after school, during vacations and on weekends. -- Take a child's depression or erratic behavior seriously: seek professional help, and make sure the child doesn't have access to a gun. -- Vote for elected officials who share your views on common sense gun safety and gun violence prevention. ------ For more information contact the Children's Defense Fund's Violence Prevention Program at 202-628-8787. Web site: http://www.childrensdefense.org/981008.html -0- |
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