Desertdog
Member
We know this. How do we get the information out to the people with their heads in the sand?
Scholar says gun danger to children grossly exaggerated
Rusty Pugh
OneNewsNow.com
October 15, 2007
http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/10/scholar_says_gun_danger_to_chi.php
An author and noted scholar says guns do not kill children -- irresponsible adults with guns do.
Guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics are advising doctors to ask their young patients if their parents own guns. If the answer is yes, they are advised to interrogate children about their parents' bad behavior, grilling the youngsters on how many guns their parents own and where the guns are kept in the house.
Dr. John Lott, Jr., of the University of Maryland says anti-gun forces are grossly exaggerating the danger that guns pose to children. Lott says the truth is, accidental gun deaths among children are much rarer than what people are led to believe.
According to statistics, there are approximately 90 million gun owners in the U.S. and about 40 million children under the age of ten. In 2003, 28 children under ten years of age died from accidental gunshots. "More kids under age five -- about 90 -- drowned in bathtubs in the home. You have over 30 a year who drown in five-gallon plastic water buckets," says Lott.
What is not reported, he says, is that the vast majority of accidental gun deaths are not children who innocently get hold of a gun. Lott explains that the majority of children in accidental gun deaths are killed by adults, most of whom have a history of violence or drug or alcohol abuse.
"It would make much more sense for these doctors to be asking 'Is your father a convicted violent felon?' than it does to ask whether or not guns are owned in the home," he points out.
Lott says the number of children killed by guns in law-abiding homes is along the lines of the number of children killed by lightening strikes.
Scholar says gun danger to children grossly exaggerated
Rusty Pugh
OneNewsNow.com
October 15, 2007
http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/10/scholar_says_gun_danger_to_chi.php
An author and noted scholar says guns do not kill children -- irresponsible adults with guns do.
Guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics are advising doctors to ask their young patients if their parents own guns. If the answer is yes, they are advised to interrogate children about their parents' bad behavior, grilling the youngsters on how many guns their parents own and where the guns are kept in the house.
Dr. John Lott, Jr., of the University of Maryland says anti-gun forces are grossly exaggerating the danger that guns pose to children. Lott says the truth is, accidental gun deaths among children are much rarer than what people are led to believe.
According to statistics, there are approximately 90 million gun owners in the U.S. and about 40 million children under the age of ten. In 2003, 28 children under ten years of age died from accidental gunshots. "More kids under age five -- about 90 -- drowned in bathtubs in the home. You have over 30 a year who drown in five-gallon plastic water buckets," says Lott.
What is not reported, he says, is that the vast majority of accidental gun deaths are not children who innocently get hold of a gun. Lott explains that the majority of children in accidental gun deaths are killed by adults, most of whom have a history of violence or drug or alcohol abuse.
"It would make much more sense for these doctors to be asking 'Is your father a convicted violent felon?' than it does to ask whether or not guns are owned in the home," he points out.
Lott says the number of children killed by guns in law-abiding homes is along the lines of the number of children killed by lightening strikes.
