Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Report Reveals Extraordinary Risks to Children of Access to Guns in the Home

Brady

Unsafe access to guns in the home is a leading cause of death among U.S. children and teens, according to The Truth About Kids & Guns: 2015, a new report from the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

For example, suicide by firearm increased among American adolescents for the third consecutive year, according to the Brady Center’s analysis of the latest fatal injury data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2013, suicide by firearm claimed 876 lives among adolescents ages 10 to 19, the highest level since 2001.

Research shows that most of these youth suicides (82%) occur with a gun belonging to a family member, usually a parent. The same trend holds true with unintentional shootings and even school shootings. Most involve a gun taken from a parent or family member.

Dan Gross, President of the Brady Center, stated:

“Millions of Americans have a gun in their homes thinking that it makes their family safer, but every day in our nation, dozens of these families learn just how dangerous and tragic that miscalculation can be. The bottom line is, having a gun in the home dramatically increases the danger that a child will be shot and killed.

“This is the third year in a row we’ve seen a rise in the rate of adolescent suicide by gun, and it’s usually a parent’s gun. The same holds true for preventable accidents and school shootings, including the tragedy at Sandy Hook. It’s usually a gun that belonged to a parent or a relative.

“Every day, 48 children are wounded or killed by gunfire. One of the most significant ways we can address this serious public health and safety issue is to educate parents about the risks of unsafe access to guns in the home. Parents are the first line of defense against gun violence, so we all need to realize the risks and take the appropriate steps to make sure our kids do not have unsafe access to guns.”

8 comments:

  1. I see we get another opportunity to talk about the lack of english comprehension in the gun control industry. Lets start with something that most people will agree on, 18 and 19 year olds aren't children. At least here in the US, they are called adults, and for the most part, are allowed to buy their own firearms and safe storage laws don't apply to them.

    "For example, suicide by firearm increased among American adolescents for the third consecutive year, according to the Brady Center’s analysis of the latest fatal injury data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2013, suicide by firearm claimed 876 lives among adolescents ages 10 to 19, the highest level since 2001."

    The CDC number for firearm suicides by people who are really children was actually 491 in 2013.

    http://webappa.cdc.gov/cgi-bin/broker.exe

    When they talk of the 2013 level being the highest level since 2001, what they are really saying is that there is no steady trend in the numbers. In 2001, 451 children(0-17) took their lives with a firearm. Between those two years, there was only one year that was higher than the 2001 figure.
    And Mike, as I recall, you have made a point of criticizing gun rights advocates in the past for picking advantageous years to show reductions in violence over a period of time. The CDC shows that in 2000 firearm suicides by children(0-17) was 537, and in 1999, it was 558.
    So if we had gone back just a single year, it would have shown a reduction in the number of suicides by children(0-17).

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    1. A have often agreed that categorizing the ages like that is a mistake, for one thing it gives you pro gun guys an excuse to disregard the whole report. I have also pointed out that even using the tighter groupings, the point remains the same. There are too many deaths and injuries because of the failure to safely store guns in the home.

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  2. I think the greater point is that this is epidemic and entirely unacceptable. It's more than just an intellectual exercise.

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  3. Of course SS is correct. Only 491 children dead, not 879, so your false numbers are nothing to concern ourselves with.

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    1. I never said that Sandra. However, when a group like this clumsily inflates the numbers when the accurate numbers are bad enough, then it distracts from the intended message. I'm not sure why they haven't figured that out yet....

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  4. "I think the greater point is that this is epidemic and entirely unacceptable. It's more than just an intellectual exercise."

    Then why continue to divert attention away from the issue by continually inflating the numbers to make them suspect? This isn't the first time they've been caught at it. And they don't seem interested in learning from their mistakes.

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  5. It's common for doctors to ask patients if they feel safe where they live. That includes getting at many problems from domestic abuse to guns in the home being used negligently, or criminally. I have no problem with doctors asking that question.

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