Working to Prevent Gun Violence and Child Deaths in Michigan

June 16, 2024 ~ More than 30 events to be held all across Michigan during the “Silence the Violence Month of Action.” The Rev. Chris Yaw, Pastor at St. David Episcopal Church in Southfield says his parish will be participating in the month-long events with a gun safety education community event. The Church has had several gun buyback programs in the past and he says gun safety is an issue that affects everyone. He says unsecured weapons are not only used to commit crimes but also firearms are most often used to commit suicide. Silence the Violence started 17 years ago at the Church of the Messiah on Detroit’s East Side. Residents gathered to march through the neighborhood to honor the memory of loved ones lost to gun violence.

According to the KFF, formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation, between 2019 to 2022, the firearm death rate in the United States among children and adolescents increased by 46%. This equates to seven children per day dying by firearm. Corewell Health’s Dr. Linda Dillon is a board-certified pediatrician/internal medicine doctor, physician educator, and associate professor at OUWB. Individuals counseled/educated by a physician are more likely to practice safe and secure storage of firearms. Corewell is giving away free gun locks in June, Dillon says they give them to parents in her practice. Michigan’s new firearm safety law, which went into effect in February 2024, requires all in-home firearms to be stored and unloaded in a locked container.