​Statistics from gun violence archive data show that almost 300 children were shot and killed in 2020, that's up 50% on previous years. What is causing this spike and what is being done to protect our kids? We speak with Gregory Jackson, spokesperson for Community Justice Action Fund, Mathew Littman of 97 Percent for Gun Safety and Dudley Brown of the National Association For Gun Rights on this topic. script-script-script-script-script-script-script-script-script -script-script-script-script-script-script Homicides are on the rise throughout the US but some stats are not hitting headlines- how gun violence can impact America's kids. According to statistics from the Brady Campaign to prevent gun violence, on average 22 children are shot every day in the USA. That's kids between the ages of 1 to 17. According to gun violence archive data, almost 300 children were shot and killed in 2020. That's up 50% on previous years. Greg Jackson, Community Justice Action Fund you know that those streets aren't just filled with blood. They're filled with lost potential and those are real lives and real humans and mothers and fathers and students and daughters on brothers who are who passed away from this crisis While mass shootings gain plenty of attention, however fleetingly- experts say it's the regularity of gun violence that lawmakers should be paying attention to. Matt Litmann, 97% percent for gun safety the with a handgun is very often used in these cases, and there are ways to end this because there are 340 million guns circulating in this country. We have a Second Amendment in the United States, but we could be smarter about not letting people who are danger to themselves or others not letting them have guns Children often the tragic victims of circumstance: frequently killed at the hands of a family member, an accidential casualty in the crossfire of a drive by shooting or in an entirely preventable accident. Gun rights advocates have a suggestion too. Dudley Brown- National Gun Rights Association Children in the United States are very likely in their lifetime to come in contact with firearms, even if they have very, very liberal families. They're going to come in contact with firearms at some point in time. And so we might as well train them how to use firearms safely The pandemic also has a role to play in rising gun deaths among children. The disruption of school, community outreach and intervention programs has put kids at risk. Activists say legislation isn't enough. Funding is needed for programs to break the cycle of violence, especially in inner cities. Greg Jackson, just because there aren't any school shootings doesn't mean that they're safe at home.And we have to be invested in protecting our youth, not just on the schools, but also in their neighbourhoods and in their homes. A child or teen is injured by a gun, on average every 24 minutes in the USA. In many ways another pandemic, but one that isn't attracting lawmakers full attention on either side of the aisle.