Two Republican state representatives have claimed that the Arizona Department of Health Services is targeting the Second Amendment rights of parents. They made these accusations in response to the agency’s annual Child Fatality Review Team report, which suggests that reducing the number of firearms in homes could potentially reduce the number of children killed by guns in Arizona.
“We find it shocking that the Child Fatality Review Team, representing the Arizona Department of Health Services, is endorsing the idea of depriving Arizonans of their Second Amendment rights within their own homes,” expressed Reps. Quang Nguyen and Selina Bliss in a letter addressed to Jennie Cunico, the head of Arizona DHS, on Monday.”
However, the report, which was released in November, does not actually endorse that idea.
The recommendations for preventing firearm deaths include taking firearms out of households with children, ensuring proper storage of all firearms, and implementing initiatives to limit access to firearms. However, the review team does not support any policies that would involve the government forcibly confiscating guns from individuals.
Instead, the report suggests strengthening gun safety regulations and enhancing parental education on the risks associated with keeping firearms in their homes, particularly in relation to the potential for adolescent suicide.
The report suggests that the best way to prevent firearm-related deaths among children is by removing all firearms from households with children. However, it does not propose any specific government action or changes to state law to achieve this. The team emphasizes the importance of raising public awareness among parents, policymakers, and schools regarding the effectiveness of removing firearms from households to prevent such tragic incidents.
The Arizona Mirror’s request for comment was not responded to by the DHS by the deadline for this story.
Nguyen, a resident of Prescott Valley, and Bliss, who resides in Prescott, both perceive the recommendations in the report as an assault on the fundamental constitutional rights of Arizonans to possess firearms.
Bliss, in a statement, emphasized the importance of prioritizing education and safe practices instead of implementing extreme measures that infringe upon individual liberties. It was also highlighted that the protection of Second Amendment rights for Arizona families remains a steadfast commitment.
Nguyen and Bliss have been at the helm of the Arizona House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee, serving as chairman and vice chairman respectively, for the past two years. With the start of the new legislature just around the corner, Nguyen is poised to once again assume the role of committee chair.
Nguyen’s unwavering support for gun rights stems from his personal history of fleeing Vietnam as a child, shortly before the fall of Saigon. This experience has fueled his passion for advocating for the preservation of the Second Amendment. Serving on the Judiciary Committee, Nguyen has effectively prevented any gun control proposals from advancing to the full House of Representatives for consideration.
According to Nguyen, who is a firearms instructor, proposals that aim to confiscate citizens’ firearms are not only unconstitutional but also lack common sense. In a statement, Nguyen emphasized that while the report suggests reasonable safety measures for other risks, such as drowning, the team goes too far by advocating for the complete removal of firearms from households with children.
According to the annual report, a detailed analysis was conducted on the 853 child deaths that occurred in Arizona in 2023. The findings of the Child Fatality Review Team revealed that nearly half, or 49%, of these deaths could have been prevented. It was further determined that the second leading cause of preventable deaths among children in the state was firearm injuries, with vehicle crashes ranking as the primary cause.
According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, child shooting deaths have witnessed a staggering 171% increase in the past decade. Shockingly, there were 68 preventable deaths in 2023 alone.
In 2023, there was an alarming rise in both child suicides and homicides. Out of the total of 61 child homicides, 40 of them were committed using firearms. Similarly, 44% of suicides among children involved the use of guns. This data highlights the concerning prevalence of guns in such tragic incidents involving children.
The team stated in their report that they believe the most effective way to prevent firearm-related deaths in children is to remove all firearms in households with children. They reached this conclusion after determining that access to guns was the biggest risk factor for firearm deaths. According to the team, the presence of firearms in a household increases the risk of suicide among adolescents.
The report recommends that parents of adolescents, particularly those with a background of mental health or substance use problems, should consider removing all guns from their homes. However, it emphasizes that this removal should be a voluntary decision made by the parents themselves, rather than being enforced by the state.
Changing Arizona law to allow for such an attempt would be highly unlikely to succeed, given that the state Legislature is controlled by Republicans. Even if a change were to be made, it would undoubtedly face immediate constitutional challenges in court.
The report refutes the Republicans’ claim that it supports “stripping Second Amendment rights.” Instead, it emphasizes the need for policies, programs, and initiatives that promote responsible firearm access and ownership in households with children.
Here are a few examples:
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- Requiring mental health screening and gun safety training for firearm purchasers
- Licensing and tracking firearm ownership
- Increasing public awareness of reporting stolen firearms and establish penalties for failing to report
- Increasing funding, access, and use of quality and affordable youth mental health and community intervention programs
- Providing bullying prevention programming for children and teens
- Increasing implementation of gang prevention programs for children and teens
Gun owners should ensure the safe storage of their firearms by keeping them unloaded and securely locked in a separate safe from the ammunition, according to the team’s recommendation.
The Child Fatality Review Team’s annual report focuses on reducing preventable child fatalities in Arizona. They achieve this goal through various means, including prevention strategies, interdisciplinary training, community-based education, and data-driven recommendations.
The report aims to assist legislation and public policy by providing recommendations.
Nguyen and Bliss emphasized in their letter to the Department of Health Services the importance of policy solutions that uphold the rights and freedoms of citizens.
In a letter addressed to the (team), a group of individuals expressed their strong disagreement with the team’s unwarranted assault on the Second Amendment and called for a revision of their Report.
Republicans across the country have consistently opposed government efforts to decrease firearms deaths, arguing that such measures would infringe upon constitutional rights. This stance is also shared by the representatives who made this declaration. Over the past two decades, there has been a surge in mass shootings, prompting calls for stricter gun control laws at both the federal and state levels. However, Republicans have been resistant to these proposals and have actively impeded their implementation.