Child Access Prevention Laws and Pediatric Firearm Injury: A Rapid Review

US child firearm fatality rates have risen since 2013. Child Access Prevention (CAP) laws aimed at reducing minors' access to firearms have existed since the 1980s. However, specific requirements for safe storage of firearms, standards of negligence, and penalties for offenders vary significantly by state, yielding a heterogeneous body of CAP legislation. A few studies have investigated the relative impacts of these laws on child firearm injury rates, with sometimes conflicting results. Here, we present a rapid review of the existing literature on CAP laws and their apparent impact on firearm-related injuries among US children, to assess whether CAP laws are an effective tool for reducing child firearm injuries.

We conducted a rapid review of published reports that evaluated the impact of CAP laws on pediatric firearm injuries and/or deaths in the United States. We extracted target population data and outcomes of each study. The data are presented narratively.

A total of 14 articles met criteria for evaluation. Taken together, these studies showed that implementation of CAP legislation was associated with reduced pediatric firearm injuries and fatalities. Moreover, longitudinal or time-series studies that examined changes in pediatric firearm injuries pre/post-CAP legislation yielded the most consistent and robust findings.

CAP laws were found to be associated with reduced pediatric firearm injuries and deaths, with the magnitude of effect being proportional to CAP law stringency.