Two state lawmakers from Prescott are condemning a report by the Arizona Department of Health that identifies firearms as a significant cause of children's deaths in 2023.
Republicans Representatives Quang Nguyen and Selina Bliss penned a letter to Arizona Department of Health Director Jennie Cunico accusing the agency of advocating against Arizonans’ Second Amendment rights.
In 2023, nearly 70 children in the state were killed by firearms, which is 8% of the total number.
"We are appalled that the [report], speaking on behalf of the Arizona Department of Health Services, is actually advocating for stripping Arizonans of their Second Amendment rights in their own homes," the letter reads.
The annual report doesn't call for guns to be removed from homes.
Instead, it notes that increasing education on the dangers of keeping firearms in homes with children could reduce fatalities and that the presence of a gun increases the risk of suicide for children.
The 2023 Arizona Child Fatality Report was published in November.