#50, Public Health Campaign to Reduce Gun Violence

I’m a gun owner, raised by family members to be responsible with my firearms. Gun ownership carries with it the duty to store those firearms safely at all times. It is an ironic tragedy when a family suffers the death of a loved one by accidental or intentional discharge of a weapon originally purchased with the intention of keeping the family safe.

This problem is not insignificant. In North Carolina, there are five firearm related deaths every day; in 2020 alone, more than 1,600 fatalities resulted. One-hundred-and-sixteen children died from a firearm related injury in 2021, and related hospitalizations increased 120% from 2016 to 2020. In fact, gun violence is the leading cause of death for children, surpassing even motor vehicle accidents. More than half of all firearm deaths are suicides. Young people and veterans are at elevated risk of creating a permanent solution to a temporary problem when experiencing an emotional crisis. If the person is using drugs or alcohol, this risk increases. Black North Carolinians are almost twice as likely as white residents to be killed by a gun. I could keep going, but I’d rather talk about solutions than numb you with statistics. If you are interested in more numbers, a Google search will return frightening results. I don’t recommend it.

My deputies are responding more frequently to people who have a firearm stolen from their vehicle. In most of these situations, the owner left the weapon unsecured and carelessly stored – sometimes in plain view on the passenger seat of their unlocked car.

As many of you know, I am involved with several statewide issues through my work with the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association and my position as the vice-chair of the Governor’s Crime Commission. I enjoy these opportunities to help craft legislation and advance ideas to improve public safety. When participating in a roundtable discussion last fall with many state leaders, including Governor Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein, I became even more convinced we need a statewide, multi-layered, comprehensive campaign to reduce gun violence.

Participants in the discussion support and respect the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution; they feel people have the right to defend themselves and their property. That said, they know education, awareness, and understanding of the laws related to a gun owner’s responsibility to store firearms safely is a crucial part of the multi-layered campaign need to improve community safety and save lives.

North Carolina is employing a four-step, public health approach to the problem of gun violence, combining programs and strategies to meet the needs of specific communities, with the goal of reducing suicides and mitigating violence. With this multi layered approach, we hope to see results similar to those in the 1970s when we attacked the problem of motor vehicle deaths so effectively that deaths per mile driven decreased by 70%.

Step 1 is to define and monitor the problem. To prevent violence, we must understand it, and study the data about frequency, location, and other trends, including who commits gun violence and who is victimized by it.

In Step 2, the plan seeks to identify the factors that seem to prevent people from experiencing or committing gun violence and those that put them at risk. This information helps identify where to focus prevention efforts.

Step 3 involves developing and testing prevention strategies aimed at accomplishing North Carolina’s three primary violence prevention goals: encourage safe firearm storage, increase protection for those at the highest risk of committing or experiencing violence, and strengthen our mental health crisis system. We will expand efforts that work, and improve or replace those that experience less robust success.

Step 4 seeks to assure widespread adoption of effective programs through training, networking, and technical assistance. All steps are critical to reducing the misuse of firearms that leads to unintentional injury, violence, or suicide.

A public health campaign takes time. It also requires individual action and participation. Whether you own firearms or not, you have a role to play. Educate yourself, talk to family members, and ask if there are unsecured weapons when you or your children go to someone else’s residence. If you have firearms, store them safely. Read and understand North Carolina’s safe storage laws. Gun violence in our state is not someone else’s problem. It is yours, it is mine, and it is ours. Let’s get to work.