Local pediatric nurse: Reducing gun violence in Florida requires action on many fronts
I have been a pediatric nurse for over 50 years and in this time have seen tremendous advances in life-saving medical care for children. Sadly, these breakthroughs are now being wasted, as preventable gun violence has become the leading cause of death for children and teens, decimating our next generations. From 2019 to 2021, Duval County saw 89 children and teens die by firearms suicide, homicide or unintentional discharge.
Reducing gun violence requires actions on many fronts. We the People, a coalition of over 30 local organizations, presented a comprehensive report on issues facing our community at the Duval County Delegation meeting on Nov. 2. Their solutions intersect with and encompass reducing gun violence:
Secure, affordable housing
Affordable health care ― including robust mental health care, suicide prevention and addiction treatment
Education and vocational training that leads to jobs that pay a living wage
Gun safety laws are also a critical part of the solution.
In 2018, following the massacre in Parkland, the Florida Legislature took decisive, bipartisan action, to enact reasonable gun safety laws. These included raising the age to buy all firearms from 18 to 21; assuring that required background checks were completed before a firearm purchase could proceed; and a Risk Protection Order Act that allows temporary removal of firearms when someone was deemed by a judge to be at risk for harming themselves or others.
The passage of permitless carry, opposed by 77% of Floridians, was an assault on gun safety. States that have passed permitless carry are seeing an 11% increase in handgun homicide rates and a 13-15% increase in violent crime. It is disheartening to hear that proposals to further weaken gun safety laws are on the horizon. Many lawmakers, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, say there is not enough evidence to support the laws passed in 2018.
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In 2018 there was strong evidence to show that the age to purchase all weapons should be raised; 18- to 20-year-olds commit gun homicides at three times the rate of those over 21, a statistic that continues to be substantiated.
The Florida Risk Protection Order has been used over 9,000 times since it was enacted. Data is available to show the efficacy of this law and how it can be improved. One Florida sheriff found that 50% of such orders in his county were used to prevent suicides. Suicide accounts for 62% of all gun deaths in Florida.
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Unintentional gun injuries and deaths, suicide and gun thefts can be decreased by stronger secure storage laws. Community-based gun violence intervention programs combat gun violence at the front line. Floridians should benefit from the $15 million in federal funds available to support these programs.
Our legislators have tremendous power to influence how Floridians live and die. With this power comes a high moral obligation to protect their constituents. They must be as courageous as the 2018 legislators, resist attempts to water down the laws already enacted and act to address safety deficits. Duval’s Legislative Delegation needs to show that they are serious about protecting our kids ― and our community ― from gun violence.
Jean Francis, Jacksonville Beach
This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Legislators can reverse trend of increasing gun violence in Florida
