SAF analysis: "leading cause of death" gun claim relies on skewed CDC categories

The claim that guns are the leading cause of death for American kids has been repeated so often it's treated as settled fact, but a new Second Amendment Foundation analysis of CDC data says the number only works if you stack the deck.

Key points

• The numbers: Provisional 2025 CDC data shows 2,099 firearm deaths among Americans ages 1-17, versus 4,140 deaths from unintentional injuries in that same group, according to the SAF fact sheet.
• Apples to oranges: SAF's Kostas Moros found that accidents are typically broken into narrow subcategories, while all firearm deaths (suicides, homicides, and accidents) get lumped together to inflate the total.
• Transportation still tops it: Transport accidents accounted for 2,223 childhood deaths, and motor-vehicle accidents alone matched the firearm total at 2,099, per the report.
• Who's pushing it: The analysis was prompted by an October 15 Giffords social media post repeating the "leading cause of death" line, which Bearing Arms says doesn't hold up against CDC's own official rankings.

Quick take

Bearing Arms argues this isn't sloppy math, it's a deliberate framing choice designed to keep people scared rather than focused on what's actually killing kids most often. If accidents outpace gunfire by a wide margin, that should shift priorities, but that conclusion doesn't serve an agenda built on fear.

Read the full story: bearingarms.com