Pure Parents

Question:

>  According to the National Safety Council, there were 200 fatal >firearm accidents amoun children in 1995, 3% of the fatal accidents among >children.  Other accidents involving children: motor vehicle (2,900, 44%), >fires ( 1,050, 16%), drowning (950, 14%), and choking on ingested object (300, >4.5%).  Since 1975, the number of fatal firearm accidents among children has >decreased 64%.  According to the National Center for Health Statistics, >firearm>accidents account for 0.4% of all deaths, for all reasons, among

 children. I recently read in a parenting magazine, that on average, one toddler per day drowns in an open  toilet by leaning over an going headfirst into it, not being able to extract themselves.  This would seem to indicate that we need ‘toilet control’ ! ..P I have inserted underscore marks (_) in my email address to foil automated spammers.  Please remove them to correspond with me directly.

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G> A local English paper claims that in the US a child is killed every two hour G> by a firearm. G> G> Now apart from the joke "you can only be killed once" I’d like some hard G> veriafiable facts on this so I can go back to the Editor and take him to G> task. G> G> Therefore can rec.hunting provide ***verifiable*** figures and sources that G> can throw at them. G> G> Remember I want *FACT* not *OPINION* on this one.  Sources such as the NRA, G> and Government Department figures will do just fine so long as I have the G> *fact* and the source etc. G> G> I would be particulary interested in having factual data of other causes of G> child deaths, say disease, car accidents etc.  Your help would be greatly G> appreciated. G> G> As most US knows we (the British) have just had our handguns outlawed.  And G> for one am fed up of the crap that is published without referecnes to source G> in papers.  I want to slam this Editor with hard facts. G> G> Ben Spencer Looks like your country has been duped alright. Sorry about your handguns. The following was taken directly from "Firearm Facts & Stats", January 1997. It is produced by NRA-ILA Research for just your purpose. For more in depth fact sheets or information on these topics, please call 1-800-392-8683. FIREARM ACCIDENTS According to the National Safety Council, the fatal firearm accident rate fell to an all-time low in 1995, down 85% since the all-time high recorded in 1904. Since 1968, the fatal firearm accident rate has declined 58% while the fatal accident rate for motor vehicles has declined only 39%.  The annual-number of fatal firearm accidents also fell to an all-time low, down by more than half since 1930. The National center for Health Statistics reports that fatal firearm accidents account for less than 2% of all fatal accidents, and only 0.07% of all deaths in the U.S.  According to the National Safety Council, there were 200 fatal firearm accidents amoun children in 1995, 3% of the fatal accidents among children.  Other accidents involving children: motor vehicle (2,900, 44%), fires ( 1,050, 16%), drowning (950, 14%), and choking on ingested object (300, 4.5%).  Since 1975, the number of fatal firearm accidents among children has decreased 64%.  According to the National Center for Health Statistics, firearm accidents account for 0.4% of all deaths, for all reasons, among children. Beware of gun control advocate’s claim that 5,000 children per year die from firearm injuries. The "5,000" figure counts anyone under age 20 as a "child". The reason, there are five times as many firearm related deaths amoung adolescents and young adults ages 15-19, as there are amoung children under age 15. Firearm-related deaths(homicides, suicides and accidents) account for 1.9% of all deaths amoung all children, far less than deaths due to perinatal conditions(31%), congenital anomalies(17%), sudden infant death syndrome(10%), motor vehicle accidents (6%), accidental drownings (2%), accidental fires (2%), neoplasms(4%), infectious diseases(3%), and other causes. The cost of medical treatment of firearm injuries is approximatley $1.4 billion annually, roughly one-fifth of 1% of the nation’s total medical care costs. Not measured are the medical costs not incurred by persons who use firearms to prevent violent crimes and injuries associated with those crimes.  The National Safety Council reports that medical costs of motor vehicle accidents reached $23 billion in 1994. ——Me again Ben Much of our country, about 31 of the states, are heading the opposite direction from your country and have passed new laws permitting law abiding citizens to carry concealed handguns. In my two home states of Washington and Montana, this is the case, and my wife and I both carry handguns in both. The permit process is easy in both. Here are the facts about what happens when honest people are also armed: The following was excerpted from "Firearms Facts & Stats, January, 1997" States with "right to carry" laws have lower overall violent crime rates, compared to states without "right to carry" laws–total violent crime is 18% lower, homicide is 21% lower, robbery is 32% lower, and aggravated assault is 11% lower. (FBI) In their highly acclaimed study, Professor John R. Lott, Jr. and David B. Mustard, of the University of Chicago, show that "allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons deters violent crimes and it appears to produce no increase in accidental deaths. If those states which did not have right- to-carry concealed gun provisions had adopted them in 1992, approximately 1,570 murders; 4,177 rapes; and over 60,000 aggravated assaults would have been avaoided yearly…The estimated annual gain from allowing concealed handuns is at least $6.214 billion…When state concealed handgun laws went into effect in a county, murders fell by 8.5 percent, and rapes and aggravated assaults fell by 5 and 7 percent." Florida’s homicide, firearm homicide, and handgun homicide rates have decreased 36%, 37%, and 41%, respectively, since the state’s carry law took effect. During the same period, the national homicide rate has decreased 0.4% while the national firearm and handgun homicide rates have increased 15% and 24%, respectively. Florida’s total violent crime rate is up only 4.5%, while the US rate is up 12.3%. (Only 30% of all "violent crimes" involve firearms.) (FBI) Citizens who carry lawfully are more law-abiding than the general public. In Florida, only 0.019% of carry licenses have been revoked because licensees committed fiearms crimes. (Florida Dept. Of State) Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement Commisioner James T. Moore says that, "From a law enforcement perspective, the licensing process has not resulted in problems in the community from people arming themselves with concealed weapons." In Texas, only 0.01% of carry permits have been revoked for any reason. (Texas Dept. Of Public Safety) Texas Department of Public Safety Director Col. James Wilson says "it has impressed me how remarkably responsible the permit holders have been" In Virginia, only 0.03% of carry permits have been revoked. (Virginia State Police) Viriginia Public Safety Secretary Jerry Kilgore says that "Virginia has not turned into Dodge City. We have not seen a problem." —me again Ben If your media is anything at all like ours, facts probably won’t bother them one bit. Just keep trying your best anyway, and good luck to you. Dennis Vick … nfx v2.6 [C0000]

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