A new poll highlighted by Axios shows that 68 percent of young people ages 14 to 29 say school shootings are the most important issue facing the U.S. The poll, which was conducted by SocialSphere, shows that school shootings are the No. 1 issue for female, white, black, Hispanic, rural and suburban youth.
Axios reports (emphasis added):
“‘The issue connects young Americans unlike anything except 9/11 in the last 20 years,’ said John Della Volpe, founder and CEO of SocialSphere, and director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics.
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“Almost 50% of African Americans said they know someone who has been shot.”
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“School shootings have politicized this generation. A preliminary estimate is that 31% of those polled voted in the midterms, Della Volpe said, nearly double the 2014 midterm turnout for this age group.”
Gun violence has a devastating impact on American children and teenagers, with nearly 2,900 children and teens aged 0-19 shot and killed and nearly 14,500 shot and injured every year. While most media attention focuses on mass shootings, gun homicides for children under the age of 13 most frequently occur in the home and are often connected to domestic or family violence. Gun violence also disproportionately affects Black children and teens, who are four times more likely than their white peers to be killed with guns.
Gun violence is now the second leading cause of death for American children overall and among Black children and teens, it’s the leading cause of death. Compared to other high-income countries, American children aged 5-14 are 14 times more likely to be killed with guns, while American adolescents and young adults aged 15-24 are 23 times more likely to be killed by guns.
For more information on the effects of gun violence on youth in America or to connect with volunteers with Students Demand Action or students who have been affected by gun violence, please don’t hesitate to reach out.