In a Thursday statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics called for stricter gun laws to cut the second-leading cause of children deaths, and the pediatricians specifically called for a restored ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004. In the U.S., firearms are involved in over 80 percent of youth homicides, which is the second-leading cause of death under age 19. The rate of gun-related deaths is higher in the U.S. than in other wealthy countries, and with guns in 38 percent of American households, most of these children “get their firearms from home,” says co-lead author of the study Dr. Robert Sege. According to the AAP, gun-related assaults cost over $17 billion a year in medical bills and lost productivity.
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