If you think child-related shootings and deaths are isolated to gang violence, you are bitterly wrong. Statistics tell us that children are far more likely to be injured or killed at home– due to an improperly stored gun and/or ammunition than they are to be shot due to random act of violence. Children– in particular, are at risk for gun-related injury or death due to naturally inquisitive nature. Further, many of our children are used to playing with toy-guns which make the distinction between real and fake even more difficult to determine. Just recently, I read about the accidental shooting of a five-year-old boy in Chicago. Apparently, the boy and his twin brother were playing with a family member’s loaded gun, when one of them pulled the trigger. Within hours of being short the boy was pronounced dead in an area hospital. Gun Owners Responsibility To Store Their Firearms Part… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Gun Safety
Subscribe to Gun Safety RSS FeedRash Of Household Gun Injuries Demonstrates Need For Restricting Childrens’ Access
Posted in Gun SafetyThere are all too many news stories about accidental gun shootings involving children. The recent Supreme Court ruling in McDonald vs. Chicago determined that cities and states cannot abridge citizens’ 2nd Amendment right to keep handguns in their home for protection. According to a UCLA law professor and physician, this decision may increase the risk of accidental injury, death, homicide, and suicide for people who live in or visit a home where a gun is kept. There are more than 30,000 gun deaths and 60,000 gun violence injuries each year. Chicago in particular suffers from excessive gun violence as seen in the following stories: In January 2010, an 8-year old Niles girl and her brother were playing with toy guns when he pulled out a .25 caliber semi-automatic shotgun and shot her in the face. The girl survived. In August 2010, two twin 5-year-old Chicago boys were playing… Continue Reading