Stop the Violence, Save the Children
Street Murals Are Being Created by Artist Mike McNeilly, to Help Raise Awareness for Gun Safety
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- With over 280 million guns in civilian hands, the terrible truth is that there is no place to hide from gun violence. Children and teens are not safe from gun violence at school, at home, or anywhere else in America. With children in the home we should properly store firearms and ammunition. A cable-style gun locking device and preventing easy accessibility from children is a safe solution.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120217/LA55965)
It is vital that we recognize the risk to children of unsupervised access to guns and understand that there are common sense steps that we must take to protect our children.
Street art murals, "Stop the Violence, Save the Children" by Artist Mike McNeilly were created back in 1992 after the L.A. Riots, and the release of the CDC (Center for Disease Control) statistics showing thousands of children's deaths from guns. The murals were imaged from Los Angeles, New York as well as the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. "We need to protect our children by making sure that guns in the home are stored securely and safely," states artist Mike McNeilly. "But responsibility to protect children does not end just there. As a people, we can all take steps now to keep our children safe from guns. A new series of "Stop the Violence, Save the Children" street murals are being created by artist Mike McNeilly, to help raise awareness for gun safety.
- Children and teens killed by firearms are more likely to be boys (90 percent). Boys ages 15 to 19 are almost 10 times as likely as girls that age to commit suicide with a firearm.
- Ninety-five percent of firearm deaths of young people occurred among children and teens 10 to 19 years old. In fact, more 10 to 19-year-olds die from gunshot wounds than from any other cause except motor vehicle accidents.
- Of the 110,645 children killed by a firearm since 1979, Fifty-nine percent were White and Thirty-seven percent were Black.
- The majority of gun violence deaths among children since 1990 have been homicides, while nearly one-third have been suicides.
- There are no federal laws that prevent child access to guns.
Our children's safety and gun safety is everyone's responsibility.
SOURCE Michael McNeilly
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