PHOENIX (AZ Family) — A new report shows Arizona is making progress protecting children from opioid overdoses, but the state is also losing ground on children and gun violence.

There has been a huge increase in gun-related deaths among children in Arizona over the past decade. increased 171% since 2014, according to the Arizona Child Fatality Review Team last report.

It is the leading cause of death among youth ages 15 to 17.

“It’s not because of population growth. You’re seeing a 171% increase, that’s a rate increase. That means it’s adjusted for population, so it’s a real increase,” said Will Humble, who has 35 years of experience in public health. He currently serves as Executive Director is doing. Arizona Public Health Association.

Latest data show that last year 68 children died in our state There was an increase of more than 13 percent compared to 2022 due to firearms.

“These are deaths in two buckets: suicide and murder. But if you look at what both murders and suicides have in common, they have easy access to loaded firearms,” Humble said.

Humble says this troubling trend continues to get worse because of politics. He believes Arizona needs laws that make it harder for children to access firearms and require guns to be stored safely.

“These rates are lower in states with child access prevention laws, and why? “Because parents who own firearms know that they will be held legally and criminally responsible if something happens to that gun because they did not secure it,” he said.

But children don’t just die from guns. Substance abuse was responsible for the death of one in five children in our state last year, but there has been a slight decrease in drug overdoses.

In 2023, 27 children died from fentanyl poisoning in Arizona; This figure is seven numbers less than the previous year.

“Kids are becoming increasingly aware that any pill carries risks,” Humble said. “Presence Narcan And it is also helpful that it can now be purchased from pharmacies without a prescription.”

Humble says the difference in gun- and drug-related child deaths comes down to willingness to regulate.

“There is something fundamental about firearms; people believe they can do whatever they want with their firearms and that doesn’t translate, it’s not the same as fentanyl. “People don’t see fentanyl as a threat to the second amendment,” he said.

Public health experts are very clear about preventing gun deaths in children: The most effective thing to do is to eliminate all guns from all homes where children live.

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