ASKing About Guns Where Your Children Play

Today, June 21, is National ASK Day.  Asking Saves Kids.

As responsible parents, we must ask the difficult questions for our children's safety when they visit a new place for the first time:  Will there always be someone with them?  Are the medicines locked up? Are there guns in the home?

And if there are guns, how are they stored?

As you can see in the graphic to the right, the statistics are shocking.  In many areas, including Oregon, 30-40% of homes with guns also have children, and a disturbing number of them, around 42%, don't lock them up!

Consider, for instance, the recent school shooting in Oregon.  The15-year old shooter got the AR-15 assault rifle, high-capacity ammo magazines, and handgun from under his brother's bed and from his brother's closet.

HERE is a previous blog post with some relevant statistics about children and guns.  For instance:

1 in 4 kids and teens whose parents own guns say they have seen or touched a gun without their parents’ knowledge.

Almost 90 percent of accidental shootings involving children are linked to an easy-to-find, loaded handgun in the house.

88% of the children who are injured or killed in unintentional shootings are shot in their own homes or in the homes of relatives or friends.

HERE is a previous blog post that compares parents' perceptions about guns in the home compared the reality shown by statistics.  It's shocking how underestimated the danger is.

With all of this in mind, Oregon's governor, John Kitzhaber, declared today ASKING SAVES KIDS DAY in Oregon.  Thank you, Governor Kitzhaber.


Personally, I feel guns and children simply don't mix.  Children are naturally curious and impetuous -- even the best kids.  And they have a knack for getting into places that we don't think they can, figuring out passwords and combinations, and finding keys.  Unless the lock is fingerprint-controlled, perhaps, no amount of locking of things will truly keep them out forever.

HERE is a good article and news video, where a mother here in Oregon talks about the issue and how important it is, and another woman discusses how she has to live every day with the guilt of her young friend dying from handling an unlocked gun.

HERE is another mother and gun owner, whose 13-year old son was in a sleepover when a friend picked up an unsecured, loaded gun and unintentionally shot her son to death.  In her words:

I never imagined that other parents were not as responsible as I am. I never thought to ask his friend's parents about how they stored their guns because I naively assumed everyone was like me.

Since Noah's death, I've learned that nine kids are shot unintentionally every day. I want people to understand that it's very important to practice gun safety if you own guns, and to ask each other if there are unlocked guns where a child may visit or play. As parents, we do so many other things to ensure our children's safety. We use car seats, seat belts, and put childproof caps on medicine. We keep knives out of their reach. We hold their hands when crossing the street. 

Learn from my pain. If you are a gun owner, lock and store your guns properly and don't assume kids will be mature and do the right thing. Don't be offended if someone asks you if your guns are locked and stored properly. And, most importantly, every parent should know that you have the right to ask if there is a gun where your child visits or plays. That one question may save your child's life.

The gun guys suggest that if we only "demystify" guns to children, by allowing them to handle them, the kids will become less curious and "safe."  But they have zero data to support them on this.  There are, however, plenty of data and psychological reports to suggest that children simply can't help themselves, even when they know it is wrong, particularly for boys.  The allure that these "bang machines" bring, combined with a gun-saturated society, makes for a deadly combination.  See the recent 20/20 expose, "Young Guns," to see how this is true (HERE is an excerpt).

This week, in Vancouver, Washington, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence put up a table and invited park-goers to learn about ASK, with a number of local political figures present as well:

The Asking Saves Kids campaign (ASK) wants parents to ask other parents if there are guns in their house and if they’re securely locked before allowing their children to go over and play.

“Make sure that they’re locked up in a safe and/or with some kind of a locking device and make sure the ammunition is stored separately,” said Heidi Yewman of the ASK campaign.

The local kickoff effort was held at Esther Short Park in Vancouver. Area officials, including Washington State Sen. Annette Cleveland, Rep. Jim Moeller, Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt and Police Chief James McElvain attended.

But pro-gun activists don't like the ASK campaign.  The deaths of innocents are too inconvenient for their "guns in all places" propaganda, and openly oppose safe storage of guns around children.  They held an "open carry" counter-rally in the same park to protest it, handguns on their hips, handing out pro-gun literature.   Why?  One "open carry" activist thinks his sense of privacy outweighs the safety of your children:

Rick Halle joined members of the Open Carry group in Vancouver and says he leads the Guns Rights Coalition in Washington.

"It's a privacy issue. ... If you're having to ask this you should question whether you're letting your children play there in the first place." Halle said. "That's something I don't want to answer … that's my personal deal. I don't think anybody else needs to know where I keep my firearms."

Pro-gun activists have even told me that, if asked, they would lie to the parents and say they don't have any guns in the home, simply because they feel their privacy is invaded!

More commonly, pro-gun activists oppose safe storage of guns because they feel that the few moments it takes to unlock and load a gun can make the difference if a rapist, druggy, gang member breaks into their home.  But the chance that your child will shoot themselves with your gun is FAR higher than the chance that you'd need to use that gun to defend yourself against a home invader.  I say the few seconds is worth the life of my child!  Nevermind that there are quick-release gun boxes, which use fingerprint recognition and open in less than a second, for a very reasonable price (less than the cost of the gun itself).  HERE is one, for instance.  As the San Antonio police chief recently put it: 

"If you say, 'Well, I've got to have my gun out and accessible because someone may break into my home,' that's not an excuse," he said. "Try using that excuse if your child gets a hold of it. (It's) not going to fly."

If you have a gun in your home and have children, if you feel you absolutely must have it, then lock it up.

And, whether you are a gun owner or not, and you have children, ask about guns in the homes where they visit.  It's quick and simple, and it can save their life!  As one author put it, "We can't be gun-shy when it comes to our kids."  Visit the Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation page for ASK to get help on how to start the conversation:  http://coef.ceasefireoregon.org/ask.

Man tried to "demystify" guns for his children, but his 3-year old son killed 6-year old daughter

(This is a cross-post with a posting at Kid Shootings blog)


Back in March, we reported on a shooting in Marysville, Washington, where a 3-year old boy was able to get out of his car seat, climb into the front seat, and access his father's loaded .38-caliber revolver while his parents were out of the family van.  The boy then shot his 7-year old sister, Jenna Carlile, in the abdomen, killing her.

The father, a gun owner and conceal carry permit holder, Derek Carlile, is now on trial.  

A police officer, Derek had thought himself "a stickler for safety" by locking his guns in a safe and "demystifying" guns to his kids by buying them toy guns, shooting BB guns with them, and teaching them how guns work.  The faulty logic here is that by "demystifying" guns to children through frequent exposure, it will keep them from being curious and handling the guns inappropriately.

It's an excuse I've heard many, many times from the gun guys when I extol the virtues and statistically-safer value of locking up guns around children or not having guns at all around them.  Though locking guns is important, it is better not to have guns around children at all.  Even the best-behaved children, including his son, are naturally curious and impetuous, with fatal consequences.

Statistics show that children are often able to access guns, despite the best training and strategies employed by their parents.

From an article:

The shooting of 7-year-old Jenna Carlile was a tragedy, but also a foreseeable consequence of the Camano Island man leaving his loaded .38-caliber revolver in the van's cup holder, deputy prosecutor Lisa Paul said. 

Evidence will show the off-duty officer made a series of unsafe choices March 10 in handling the weapon and as a result placed his children at risk, Paul told jurors.

Carlile accepts fault for his role in the shooting and "it's something he wishes he could change, but he can't," Seattle defense attorney David Allen said. 

Still, he urged jurors to keep an open mind and let the evidence guide their decision.
"This was a terrible, tragic accident but it wasn't a crime," Allen said. 

Carlile has worked as a patrol officer in Marysville for about three years. Allen described him as a stickler for gun safety, and somebody who has made a habit of locking up his firearms in a 600-pound safe at his home when he isn't carrying them for his job.

In keeping with his training, the officer had taken steps to "demystify" firearms for his children, teaching them how they work as part of a strategy aimed at encouraging safety, Allen said.

Testimony will show that Carlile provided his son with toy guns and on at least one occasion helped his 3-year-old shoot a BB gun, Paul said.

The boy was fascinated with his father's firearms, and at times would try to get into the safe in an attempt to play with them, she said.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

Wherever There Are Guns, There Can Be Gun Accidents

As the gun guys like to chide, in their oversimplified way, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people."  I agree.  People with guns kill people.  And sometimes they unintentionally kill themselves and others.

It is a simpla truth that the pro-gun guys live in denial about.  When faced with reports of gun owners who unintentionally shoot themselves and others, pro-gun folks simply write it off, suggesting that those are rare examples and that those gun owners just didn’t understand the 4 Rules of Gun Safety and had not been trained properly.  (Personally, I prefer the 11 Rules of Gun Safety, but for some reason the gun guys never cite those). 

Certainly, these rules should be followed, and I highly advocate it.  But don’t be lulled into a false sense of security.  We all make mistakes.  And when you combine this with a weapon made to kill with a finger twitch, the consequences can be deadly.

Consider gun yahoos like the ones in this YouTube video, who act stupidly or don’t know their guns well.  Some simply underestimate the recoil of their weapon.  These people are lucky they aren’t dead.  It’s no laughing matter.

But even if you follow the rules of gun safety, it’s no guarantee against injury.  Here’s a video of a guy shooting a .50-caliber sniper rifle.  He fired a shot, but aimed straight at the target.  The round ricocheted directly back at him and smashed his ear protection.  By some luck, he was uninjured.  (of course, I would argue that there is absolutely no good reason for any citizen to own a .50-caliber rifle, but that’s beside the point).  When you fire such a powerful weapon against a flat metallic target at a direct angle, you’d think you’d have more distance between you and the target.

There are plenty of examples of shooting accidents at shooting ranges, too, where safety rules are supposed to be well-taught and strictly enforced.

But even very highly trained gun owners, who clearly know all about gun safety rules and have been in combat situations, still aren’t guaranteed to survive their gun fetish.

For instance, a 53-year old man who is described as a gun enthusiast, military veteran, and a master weapons instructor, had a number of pistols on his kitchen table and wash showing off his guns to friends, possibly intending to sell them.  He failed to realize that one of his guns was loaded, and fatally shot himself in the head.  You’d think a master weapons instructor might know better.

Here’s another recent case:  A soldier stationed at Fort Carson was cleaning his gun when it discharged unintentionally.  It hit him in the knee.  Sadly, it also hit an important artery there and he bled to death.  This soldier was a sergeant 1^st Class with the 10^th Special Forces Group.  You’d think one of our military’s most highly-trained soldiers would be more careful with his personal firearm.

These are just two examples I happened upon this week without even trying.  It's easy to find examples of well-trained gun owners who unintentionally kill or maim themselves with their guns.

To be semantic, these are unintentional injuries, not “accidents.”   The term “accident” suggests that it can’t be helped, like an act of nature.  But most of these accidental shootings are actually the result of stupid behavior, poor judgment, alcohol, or simply not being careful enough to follow those gun safety rules.  They are 100% preventable.

And I’m not even talking here about unintentional shootings by children who get their hands on their family’s gun.  We’ve chronicled hundreds of those so far this year over at the Kid Shootings blog, of children who get guns and harm themselves or others, or take them to school.  There is no shortage of irresponsible gun owners who leave their loaded an unlocked guns where children can access them, or who act irresponsibly with their guns around children.  That goes for children who have been trained in gun safety, too, such as this incident where a boy who lived at a gun range that his family tended, who had guns as an integral part of his family life, nonetheless unintentionally shot to death his older brother.  Every single one of these gun owners should know better, should accept responsibility for their bad choices, and should have their guns removed after an accident using their guns.  As my friends over at the MikeB302000 blog say, it should be a one-strike-and-your-out policy for guns.  

Wherever there are guns, there can be gun accidents.  Even the smartest people sometimes do dumb things or have accidents, even if they try to follow safety rules.  No amount of self-delusion will change this fact.  If you have a gun in the home, you have to accept the danger and hope you or your loved ones don't suffer a tragedy because of it.

How Many Shootings Does It Take?

I just read a blog post at Random Musings, where the author wonders what the “magic number” of gun deaths is to lead to real action.  In his words:

I don't know if anyone from the NRA/gun lobby will read this, or would dare to admit it if they did, but if they happen to do so, I have a couple of questions for them -

How many guns have to be sold before your benefactors in the firearms industry find that even their unbridled avarice is met?

How many innocent people have to die before your bloodlust is satiated?

It’s a good question.  When confronted with all the horrifying numbers, the gun extremists write it off as “the cost of freedom,” or attribute all the shootings only to gangs or drug dealers or the random mentally ill loonies out there.  The NRA doesn’t seem to care, as long as the “donations” from gun and ammo manufacturers keep rolling in.

So what does it take for the NRA to agree to stricter gun regulation, as they used to before extremists took over in the late 70s?  You remember, back when the NRA was actually more about gun safety and hunting than it was about politics?  They actually supported and proposed some of the earlier pro-control gun regulations.

How many deaths does it take for our legislators to stop listening to the NRA?

How many deaths does it take for citizens to stand up and demand the legislators pay attention?  After all, the VAST majority of citizens, including gun owners, support stronger regulation, such as background checks for all gun sales, blocking terrorists on the terrorist watch list, and bans on assault weapons and high-cap ammo magazines.

I mean, isn’t it enough already that there are 100,000 people shot a year in America?  That’s 270 people shot each day, in homicides, assaults, suicides, and accidents, and 87 of them die.  33 of them are murdered.  Aren’t those numbers shocking enough?  The gun lobby insists that “an armed society is a polite society” as the bumpersticker slogan says, but we are already the most armed country of them all.  Their way hasn’t worked.

Isn’t it enough that we lead the advanced world in gun-related deaths? 

…that we have more gun deaths in a year than during any war since WWII, including Vietnam? 

…that there are more gun deaths in the U.S. each year than death by any means in war-torn Somalia or Yemen?

…that there are now more gun deaths in 10 states than car deaths, with other states coming close to even?

.. that we now have multiple mass murders every month, whereas years pass between them in most advanced nations.

So, what will it take??  At what point will our leaders take action to keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them, such as by demanding background checks for all gun sales, including private sales?  How many mass murders will it take to finally ban assault weapons?  At what point will the background check system actually be strengthened?  At what point will we mandate safe storage of guns in homes with children?

Will it take running gun battles in every town, every week? 

From the City of Houston's video

Will every school and theater have to have an armed guard in every room?

Will every family in America have to lose someone to gun violence first?

Will every city and organization have to make evacuation plans for shootings, as the city of Houston did with a recently produced video?

How much of a war zone are we willing to tolerate?  How much blood will it take?

Or will the gun lobby continue pressing for gun deregulation and more guns in more hands until we’re all dead or living in fortresses?

I want to know, Mr. LaPierre.  How many deaths does it take?

"Celebratory Gunfire" Kills -- Keep Your Guns Inside This Fourth Of July

Wednesday is our nation's birthday, Independence Day, when we celebrate the birth of Democracy, the founding our nation, and the rule of laws made by men to protect our freedoms.

It is a time for families to come together and enjoy each other's company, grill some hot dogs, and shoot of some colorful fireworks.  Some of my best memories are of Fourth of July get-togethers.

But it's also a good time to reflect on a bit of old wisdom:  with increased freedom comes increased responsibility.  Not everyone is responsible enough for those freedoms. 

You are free to drink if you are of legal age, but the Fourth of July is a time of increased drinking and driving.  Because people are not always responsible, there are laws against it, and increased police patrols. 

You are free to shoot off fireworks, but some fireworks are dangerous.  Every year people are injured or killed by them, and they can start fires.  So, here in Oregon at least, there are limits to what fireworks you can buy and set off (no bottle rockets or Roman candles, for instance).  Over at the Common Gunsense blog, the author, Japete, points out that, in Minnesota, you have to show your ID and have your driver's license scanned in order to buy even the simplest of fireworks, but you don't even need that much to buy a gun in a private purchase.

So there were 2 deaths from fireworks in 2009 and 8800 injuries in the U.S. I remind my readers that firearms take the lives of 30,000 Americans every year ( including 8 children a day) and another 70,000 injuries costing the country billions of dollars. And yet, I needed to produce my driver's license to buy 2 boxes of "Pop Its" today! There is widespread recognition that fireworks and firecrackers can be and are dangerous. Guns? Not so much. I should say that most people understand the dangers of guns but the NRA and its' minions won't allow any common sense laws to pass to prevent deaths and injuries. I also remind my readers that private sellers of firearms are supposed to ask for a driver's license but many do not.  In hidden camera video after hidden camera video, we have the proof that many people buy guns without producing one piece of identification. Here is just one of the latest exposés about how easy it is to buy guns, no questions asked. It's easier to buy a gun than it is to buy fireworks. And fireworks cause a very small number of deaths and injuries to Americans in a given year. Where is common sense?

And if you are a law-abiding adult, you are free to purchase and own a gun in your home, but you cannot willy-nilly fire it in public.  And yet, every year, there are injuries and deaths from "celebratory gunfire."  For some reason, some people aren't satisfied by simply whooping and hollering, or even exploding fireworks.  Instead, they find it necessary to fire off bullets into the night sky.  It makes a loud and fantastic boom, right?  What are the chances that the bullets are actually going to fall on someone?

Don't say that to the parents of this 7-year old, who was hit in the abdomen by celebratory gunfire this New Year's.  Or this 14-year old who was injured.  Or this 12-year old who was shot in the head and put in a coma.  The list goes on....

The 12-year old, Diego Duran, was in a coma for a month and is now recuperating.  He and his family have started an initiative, called "Bullet Free Sky" to try to reduce celebratory gunfire.  Their webpage: http://bulletfreesky.com/ .   Their Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/BulletFreeSky.

Here is a good article about the dangers of celebratory gunfire.  As the Author, Henry Louis Adams, writes:

Every year countless numbers of people are either killed or injured due to this senseless activity. It has been two years since Marquel Peters was struck in the head by a celebratory bullet while sitting in a Georgia church on New Year’s Eve. Also, Sergio Martinez at age 34 was struck in the head with a celebratory bullet while inside of his family’s home. The paramedics found him lying on the kitchen floor. Diego Duran, a 12-year-old Florida boy, was sitting in his front yard watching the fireworks in January of 2012 when he was struck by a celebratory bullet.

Diego sustained life threatening injuries, but survived and is still struggling from the effects of that shooting today. Joseph B. Jaskolka shares the moment he came in contact with celebratory Gunfire. He says: "I was struck in the head at about 12:05am, January 1st , 1999, in South Philadelphia. I was at a family party, I was almost immediately struck in the head after I took a few steps down Fernon Street. The bullet entered the top of my head, then fell down and now is resting on my brain stem. I was an athletic pre-teen who is now a hemiplegic man (I only have the use of my left sided extremities). By the way, I was just 11 years old at the time."

When I think of celebratory gunfire, images of third-world nations come to mind, like of Saddam Hussein shooting off a rifle at his public events.  But, as I have posted before, we are worse for shootings than most third-world nations, including many of those who are at war.

I urge you to spread the word to your community about this danger.  Here is a good pledge to take part in, Marquel's Pledge, to stop celebratory shootings.   Take part in a virtual event the Say NO to "Celebratory Gunfire" Facebook event.  Join the Citizens Against Celebratory Gunfire and Senseless Gun Violence Facebook group.

Enjoy your Fourth of July festivities.  Have fun with friends and families and fireworks.  But please be safe.

And for those of you who have guns at home, don't make your gun part of the festivities, for safety's sake. It's illegal, after all.

ADDENDUM: A related article, with some historical information on "celebratory gunfire."

ADDENDUM:  An interesting comment about this issue,by Peg Thon, from a related posting (click to zoom):

UPDATE (7/5/12):  Added information on Bullet Free Sky.

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National ASK Day 2012 - Does Your Perception of the Danger of Guns Match Reality?

Today is National ASK Day, when parents are urged to ask about guns and other dangers where their children play.  Is there a gun where your children play, in their friends' homes, in the purse of your babysitter, in your relative's home?  Are you certain?  Have you asked? 

And if there is a gun there, is it properly stored, locked and unloaded?

Have you talked to your children about avoiding guns without proper supervision, or what to do when they find a gun?  Have you urged them to Speak Up about guns they encounter?

All too often, gun owners underestimate the danger of their weapons around children.  They erroneously believe that their children have been trained sufficiently to avoid their guns, or that their children could never get into their guns.  Unfortunately, these assumptions are often wrong, with tragic consequences.  Over at the Kid Shootings blog, I see numerous examples every week of children who get hold of guns where they live or visit and shoot themselves or others.  For instance, HERE is a recent example where a 9-year old boy in Oklahoma got into his family’s gun safe, got a loaded gun, and unintentionally shot his 3-year old brother.  HERE is another recent example, where a 7-year old boy in Mississippi got hold of his family’s loaded, unsecured shotgun and shot his 4-year old sister in the face.

Below is a very enlightening graphic, put out by the Center to Prevent YouthViolence.  As you can see, the danger of guns to children is higher than the perception of danger by gun owners.  Please read this carefully and discuss it with other parents (click on the picture to read it more clearly). 

While we at Ceasefire Oregon do not recommend having guns in homes with children at all, if you feel strongly that a gun is needed, please store it locked and unloaded, with the key or combination closely guarded. 

The safety of our children is our most important duty as parents.

Here is a previous post on the ASK campaign:  http://newtrajectory.blogspot.com/2011/02/asking-saves-kids.html

And here is an article I recently published on the topic, in Metro-Parent Magazine (see page 28):  http://www.metro-parent.com/issues/june11/june11.pdf


Let's make a new trajectory for our community, away from gun violence.


UPDATE:  The "Art on Issues" blog had a great posting which, at the end, comments on the misperceptions of children and guns.  I recommend you read it.  Here is a good excerpt:

First, a study showed the vast majority of adults (around 87%), regardless of gun ownership, geography, race, gender, education level, income, or child age, believed that their children would not touch guns they found, 52% reasoning that their children were “too smart” or “knew better” (ref).  This unrealistic expectation for children was demonstrated in another study (ref).  Twenty-nine (29) groups of boys aged 8-12 years were observed in a room where a gun was hidden.  Many of the children found and handled the gun, and half of the children actually pulled the trigger (more than 90% of these boys reported having had some sort of gun safety training).  Although the NRA offers its Eddie Eagle training program, a study in 6 and 7 year olds compared the effectiveness of that program to a behavioral skills training program (ref): “…children who received behavioral skills training were significantly more likely to demonstrate the desired safety skills in role-playing assessments and in situ assessments than were children who received Eddie Eagle program training”.

....

A reasonable question would be how many of the NRA’s own membership have lost children, who otherwise may have done things differently, had the organization they financially supported been proactive rather than obstructive regarding the public health risks of firearms? 

ADDENDUM (6/21/12):  A related article with more statistics, by "M.D. Mama", pediatrician Dr. Clair McCarty:  http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/mdmama/2012/06/is_there_a_gun_where_your_child_plays.html?comments=all
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Death By Gun Now Higher In 10 States Than Death By Car

There are a great many alarming statistics about shootings in America which illustrate the dangers that guns and their lax regulation pose to our safety.  These statistics come from scholarly, peer-reviewed articles in distinguished science and crime journals, or from careful governmental studies at the state or federal levels.  The pro-gun side practically never has statistics to counter these.

And yet, when I and other advocates of sensible gun regulation have rolled out these statistics, and the gun guys have nowhere to turn in their attempt to discredit them, they inevitably turn to a red herring argument which basically boils down to this:  "Yes, those gun death stats are awful, but vehicular deaths are worse, so we should ignore the gun stats unless you want to ban all cars," or some such false argument meant to derail the debate. 

Consider the following, from a February 2011 Oregon Public Broadcasting radio show, with a debate between Penny Okamoto, executive director of Ceasefire Oregon, and Kevin Starrett, executive director of the extremist organization, Oregon Firearms Federation, which I blogged on previously:

[host] Emily Harris then goes on to mention one comment on their blog comparing gun deaths to deaths by cars, suggesting "car" and "gun" could be used interchangeably in conversation.

Starrett once again sees little difference:  "I think there is an important parallel here.  Cars kill far more people than guns do, and yet if on the many occasions, daily occasions, when we hear of people being killed in car accidents, many of which were caused by gross negligence by people or teenagers drinking or that kind of thing -- in the wake of a story like that, you would never invite a representative from AAA to come on and defend car ownership."  Later adding, "You wouldn't see me coming and demanding that Penny give up her driver's license."

Okamoto responded, "It's a parallel that is pulled out only when it's useful.  Guns are made to kill people.  Cars are not.  Cars are basically for transportation.  Sometimes people do die in car accidents.  One of the reasons that the number of people dying in car accidents has decreased is because so many people have worked on making cars safer and making people safer drivers.  The gun lobby doesn't work on making guns safer. ... There's no license, no registration, no requirement for training [for guns].  Anyone can buy a gun from anyone in Oregon.  You don't have to be a licensed firearms dealer."  Then, as a further analogy, she adds, "And there's an interesting parallel that wishes to be made.  If we put children in car seats when they're in cars, then why can't we have some type of law that prevents children from gaining access to weapons, or more preferably, makes gun owners more responsible.  If you have a gun, you own it, and some child accesses it, you're responsible.  You have to be a responsible gun owner."

I would also add that the overwhelming majority of deaths in cars is due to accidents, not homicides or suicides, whereas the reverse is true for guns.

On my long list of topics to pursue, I have long wanted to do a deep dive into the statistics.  What little I've done haven't looked good for the gun lobby.  Add to this that the number of fatal shootings are rising, ever so slightly, despite reducing numbers of gun owners, while fatal driving accidents are decreasing, despite increases in the number of drivers.

Today the ViolencePolicy Center announced a new report, which illustrates my point quite nicely.  Gun-related deaths now outpace car-related deaths in 10 states.  From a press release:

A new Violence Policy Center (VPC) state-by-state analysis of government data comparing firearm deaths and motor vehicle deaths shows that gun deaths outpaced motor vehicle deaths in 10 states in 2009, the most recent year for which state level data is available.  The 10 states which experienced more firearm deaths than motor vehicle deaths in 2009 are: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, and Washington (see alphabetical listing of states with mortality figures below).  Nationally, there were 31,236 firearm deaths in 2009 and 36,361 motor vehicle deaths according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

Here is a link to that report:  http://www.vpc.org/studies/gunsvscars.pdf

Here is a breakdown of the numbers, from that report:

Here is an informative graph which shows nationwide numbers of car-related deaths is falling in recent years, almost down to the number of gun-related deaths, which is rising slightly:

Excerpts from the report:

In 2010, the number of fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes continued their steady decline for a total of 35,080.b This drop took place despite a significant increase in the number of miles Americans drove.c

More than 90 percent of American households own a cari while fewer than a third of American households contain a gun.j And yet, if charted out year-by-year as seen in the graph on the prior page, deaths nationwide from these two consumer products are on a trajectory to intersect.

The report goes on to comment on the large number of safety improvements and regulations of cars (such as seat belts and seat belt laws, shatter-resistant windshields, speed restrictions, child seats, etc.) which have greatly reduced deaths by car, yet there has been no such safety regulation of guns and ammo, and regulation of guns remains very lax.

I urge you to visit the link and read the report for yourself, but here I will post, verbatim, the conclusion from the report:

Ten states already experience gun death rates that exceed their motor vehicle-related death rates. If current trends continue, the number of states where gun deaths outpace motor vehicles deaths will only increase.

The historic drop in motor vehicle deaths illustrates how health and safety regulation can reduce deaths and injuries that were at one time thought to be unavoidable.

Such an approach to injury prevention has been applied to every product Americans come into contact with every day—except for guns. And as is the case with motor vehicles, health and safety regulation could reduce deaths and injuries associated with firearms.

Comprehensive regulation of the firearms industry and its products could include: minimum safety standards (i.e., specific design standards and the requirement of safety devices); bans on certain types of firearms such as “junk guns” and military-style assault weapons; limits on firepower; restrictions on gun possession by those convicted of a violent misdemeanor; heightened restrictions on the carrying of loaded guns in public; improved enforcement of current laws restricting gun possession by persons with histories of domestic violence; more detailed and timely data collection on gun production, sales, use in crime, involvement in injury and death; and, public education about the extreme risks associated with exposure to firearms.

America is reaping the benefits of decades of successful injury prevention strategies on its highways, but continues to pay an unacceptable, yet equally preventable, price in lives lost every year to gun violence.

Here is a related article on this study, published by the Tucson Sentinal.  VPC executive director, Kristen Rand, is quoted in the article:

"Americans are reaping the benefits of smart safety regulation of motor vehicles. The idea that gun deaths exceed motor vehicle deaths in 10 states is stunning when one considers that 90 percent of American households own a car while fewer than a third own firearms," said the group's legislative director, Kristen Rand.

"It is also important to consider that motor vehicles—unlike guns—are essential to the functioning of the entire U.S. economy. It is time to end firearms’ status as the last unregulated consumer product," she said.

UPDATE (6/12/12):  A good related article, with excellent statistics, by "Art on Issues": http://www.artonissues.com/2012/06/guns-vs-cars-would-you-send-your-child-there/.

UPDATE (10/10/12):  Gun Deaths have now surpassed death by automobile in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (= "DMV"):  http://www.vpc.org/press/1210dmv.htm .  From that link:

The analysis, which uses the most recent complete data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, reveals that in 2010--

• Gun deaths in the DMV totaled 1,512 while motor vehicles deaths totaled 1,280. 

• In the District of Columbia there were 99 firearm deaths reported in 2010, 84 of which were identified as homicides and 13 of which were identified as suicides. That same year, there were 38 motor vehicle deaths in the District. 

• In Maryland, there were 538 firearm deaths reported in 2010, 306 of which were identified as homicides and 222 of which were identified as suicides. That same year, there were 514 motor vehicle deaths in the state. 

• In Virginia, there were 875 firearm deaths reported in 2010, 271 of which were identified as homicides, 576 of which were identified as suicides, and 13 of which were identified as unintentional deaths. That same year, there were 728 motor vehicle deaths in the state.

Nationally, there were 31,672 firearm deaths reported in 2010. That same year there were 35,498 motor vehicle deaths nationwide.

UPDATE (5/13/13):  A related article about Washington State's gun death statistics topping those from cars.

UPDATE (4/8/15):  Another state, Tennessee, has also joined the ranks of states with higher gun deaths than automobile deaths, bringing the total now to at least 18 states. From the article:

"The analysis found that in 2013, there were 17 states where there were more gun deaths than motor vehicle deaths: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming, along with the District of Columbia," the center said in a news release sent out Tuesday. "More than 90 percent of American households own a car while fewer than a third of American households have a gun.

"Americans' exposure to motor vehicles vastly outweighs their exposure to firearms. Yet nationwide, there were 33,636 gun deaths and 35,612 motor vehicle deaths in 2013."

.

Where Is The Safest Place To Avoid Gun Accidents? Shooting Ranges?

Those of us who fight gun violence are always pointing out the one, irrefutable truth about firearms:  guns are designed to fire with deadly force, quickly and easily.  Because of this, where guns go, gun violence follows.  The same is true of unintentional shootings  (note that I'm distinguishing between "accidents" and unintentional shootings, since the term "accident" suggests that an incident is somehow unavoidable).  Literally every day I read about unintentional shootings, often with children, but there's no shortage of these shootings involving adults, too.  Here is a sampling of them.  Most of these are by previously law-abiding citizens, some with conceal carry permits, like this guy (who just two days ago was a newly trained security guard showing off his gun to a friend.  He wound up shooting her in the head and killing her.)

To the gun guys, these daily accidents are just another cost of their "freedom."  To me, it's a disgraceful and avoidable shame.

When these unintentional shootings occur, the most common statement from pro-gun extremists is that the person who fired the gun just hadn't had sufficient training in the four rules of gun safety.  I say that's bullshit.  It's true that in most states, including here in Oregon, you don't need a moment of gun safety training to purchase a gun for your home, not a single shot fired.  But this is a lethal weapon.  Anyone with any common sense should realize it is deadly -- the reason it is purchased -- and should be treated as such at all times.  Here in Oregon you have to take a class for an hour or two, no live fire required by the state (although many programs do so anyway).  It's the same in many other states, such as Arizona (where THIS young lady wasn't even asked if she had fired a gun, much less had to do so for her conceal carry certification class).  I don't feel that a couple hours sitting at a desk or firing off a few dozen rounds at the shooting range is sufficient to render someone "safe" with their weapon, but at least they should have had someone drill the idea into their head for an hour.  Better than nothing, I guess.

Okay, so if there is any one place a person could go to avoid an accident, it would be with close supervision by an experienced firearms instructor, well-versed in teaching safety for a wide range of firearms and diverse clients of all ages, right?  Like a shooting range.  The four rules of gun safety should be prominent in everything that happens there, posted on the walls, and evident with every step in the process of picking up, loading, firing, and setting down the gun.  I've been to a few shooting ranges and shot handguns and rifles at them, from my old Boy Scout camp in the woods of Arkansas to an indoor police range here in Oregon.  They all featured the four rules in one form or another and apparently competent instructors.

So I would say that shooting ranges and firearms safety classes should be pretty foolproof for safety.  Wouldn't you agree?

Except they aren't.

(Note: Additional updated incidents will be added as they occur.  See below.) 

1/24/12 -- Eastlake, Ohio:  A man attempts to clear his weapon and unintentionally sends a .357 round through the stall wall, hitting his friend on the other side.  The friend dies from the wound.

1/28/12 -- Rowlett, Texas:  After numerous stray bullets hit homes over a couple years, most recently flying through a wall and nearly hitting a 5-year old boy, the town moves to shut down the shooting range.

"It's just a parent's worst nightmare," she said. "The idea of a child getting hurt or killed, especially in a house -- it shouldn't happen in a house."

Police said the bullets were from a high powered rifle that could have traveled a distance.

"It's just scary," Bowman said. "Had they been playing in here, they would have been in the path of the bullet, and who knows what would have happened."

2/7/12 -- Sitka, Alaska:  A man at a shooting range was re-holstering his weapon when it fired, killing him.

3/20/12 -- Custer, South Dakota:  Residents call for the shutting down of a shooting range after reports of bullets flying through residential neighborhoods.

"You go outside and you don't really feel safe when they're shooting. I've had two bullets, heard them ricochet up and come towards over in that area across the highway," neighbor Quinten Arp said.

"It's right next to the highway, right next to the houses and it's not a place for a gun range," Arp said.

3/10/12 -- San Antonio, Texas:  A court halts rifle fire at a shooting range after a nearby golfer was struck by a stray bullet.

3/23/12 -- Boise, Idaho:  25-year-old Kevin Kuhn died of a self-inflicted wound to the forehead at an indoor range run by Impact Guns in Boise.  Despite being a forehead wound, police believe it likely wasn't a suicide due to the fact that the gun was at an intermediate range and not directly against the skin when it fired.

3/26/12 -- Charleston, North Carolina:  60-year-old Benny Patterson was shooting at the range in the Trader World Gun Shot when he stopped to inspect his weapon, but he discharged it unintentionally, hitting himself in the chest and dying from the wound.

4/14/12 -- Fayetteville, North Carolina:  a man at an indoor shooting range tries to clear his gun, but it discharges, sending a round through his leg.

4/16/12 -- Texas City, Texas:  The rangemaster at a city municipal shooting range tried to unjam a handgun when it fires, sending a  round through his hand.

4/18/12 -- Paulden, Arizona:  A man who was attending a basic pistol class at the Gunsite Academy went to holster his weapon and sent a round through his leg.

4/24/12 -- Roanoke, Virginia:  A man and woman were taking a firearms safety class when he unintentionally fired his .45-caliber handgun through his hand in into his wife's leg.  The man who shot himself said the shooting was a "stupid accident."

4/26/12 -- Galveston, Indiana:  A gun store and shooting range was having a "shooting event" which featured a .308-caliber Russian-made machine gun.  Unfortunately, they also rained bullets downon the surrounding residential neighborhood, nearly hitting a mother and her 5-yearold daughter as they sat for lunch.

At first she thought someone was throwing rocks, but when she heard a popping noise she realized it was gunfire and called 911.

“I just didn’t know where to go,” Stout said. “I had to go get my phone and I thought, ‘What if they start shooting again?’ ”

Police found a bullet lodged in a wooden door frame inside the home and another bullet in the drywall upstairs. The first bullet nearly hit the mother and daughter, a police report said.

“If the round would have traveled three inches to the right, there is a high probability chance that Lori and/or her daughter could have been struck,” the report said.

(see below for additional shooting incidents added since the initial posting)

And that's just the instances I've heard of this year.  I didn't search back through last year or prior.

No wonder cities all over the country are trying to shut down shooting ranges or prevent them from being built.  Some say the issue is noise from the guns.  But let's face it: no one is comfortable with the idea of bullets whizzing around their neighborhoods.  In the words of the owner of that shooting range in Custer, South Dakota, that's being attacked for its poor safety:

" I will not and cannot guarantee that a round will never escape this premises. You just can't do it."

And that's the problem.  All it takes is one bullet with an unfortunate trajectory to kill someone.

Citizens in Chickamauga, Georgia, for instance, are objecting to the building of a shooting range there, only 400 feet from a daycare and school.

Here's a Chicago neighborhood who objected to the building of a police shooting range near them.  Using an environmental argument, they succeeded in blocking the plan.

Increasingly ostracized, it's harder all the time to find a location far enough away from civilized areas to build a shooting range.  Here's one in West Virginia that is getting opposition to build near a cemetery (in an ironic way, maybe the only suitable landmark to be near a shooting range).  And here's one in Maine which was evicted from their old location and has to settle on an old sludge pit!

So if shooting ranges with instructors aren't safe enough, then where can you possibly go without fear of being shot by some idiot who isn't mindful of his weapon?

Anywhere there isn't a gun, obviously.

UPDATES:

More gun range shootings since posting this entry:

4/27/12 -- Gas City, Indiana:  A Muncie man unintentionally fires his SKS military-style semi-auto assault rifle at a shooting range, hitting himself twice in the abdomen.  He is expected to survive.

5/7/12 -- Onalaska, Washington:  A woman being trained in drawing and re-holstering her 9mm handgun unintentionally shot herself while re-holstering it into her concealed hoster.  The wound was non-life-threatening.

5/8/12 -- Scottsdale, Arizona:  A 52-year old man accidentally shot himself in the chest at the Scottsdale Gun Club.

5/11/12 -- Lincoln County, Idaho:  A police officer, training during an NRA officer training course, accidentally shoots himself at a gun range.

5/28/12 -- Laguna Hills, California:  32-year old Kenneth Matthew Wells wrote a suicide note, went to a shooting range, rented a gun, stepped into the shooting range, and shot himself dead with one round to the head. 

6/12 -- Brighton, Michigan:  Charles Kimball and his friend Jessce Stearn were at the Livingston Conservation and Sports Association gun range when Stearn shot Kimball in the head with a replica AK-47, killing him.  The shooting was later determined to be intentional murder.

6/15/12 -- West Palm Beach, Florida:  A patron at the Shoot Straight shooting range was unintentionally hit and wounded by a ricochet bullet.

6/21/12 -- Galeton, Colorado:  A 71-year old man, Wayne Harrison of Greeley, unintentionally fired his .357-caliber revolver while trying to holster it, while at a gun club, shooting himself in the stomach.  He was taken to a hospital and was in stable condition (related article).

6/21/12 -- Wichita, Kansas:  A law-enforcement recruit was struck by a ricochet bullet while practicing, and had minor injuries, at a firing range near Lake Afton.

6/23/12 -- Utah Lake, Utah:  A wildfire was started after a person at a shooting range shot at and hit an exploding target.  (So far there have been at least 20 wildfires started by exploding targets in Utah alone, so far this year).

7/2/12 -- Brighton Township, Michigan:  Four friends, three males aged 19 and a 16-year old female, went to a gun range to fire an AK-47.  The gun jammed, as it had in the past.  In trying to clear the jam, it discharged, hitting and killing one of the 19 year olds.

7/4/12 -- West Palm Beach, Florida:  A woman accidentally shoots her boyfriend in the ankle at Gator Guns and Archery Center. 

7/7/12 -- Green Garden Township, Illinois:  Bullets pepper a nearby home, including a round that nearly hit two teen boys inside, shot from a private home shooting range, where a party with 25-30 shooters were firing weapons under the supervision of an ex-Marine tactical firearms trainer.

7/17/12 -- Houston, Texas:  A police officer was at the Houston Police Department Academy firing range, cleaning his weapon, thinking it was unloaded.  He accidentally fired the weapon, hitting the floor. A bullet fragment wounded him above his eyebrow.  

7/19/12 -- Petaluma, California:  A man who was an award-winning marksman and lifetime shooter was shooting alone at a shooting range when he went to get his shotgun from the car.  The gun was loaded, and when he pulled it out, barrel pointed toward him, it discharged, striking him in the chest and killing him.  "He was a very, very safe person," said his wife and mother of their two children.

8/26/12 -- Scottsdale, Arizona:  A man commits suicide at the Scottsdale Gun Club.  (In May, a man had accidentally shot himself at the same gun club).

9/28/12 -- Muskogee, Oklahoma:  James Woolard, 44, was doing target practice at a gun range at Camp Gruber shot himself to death in what appears to be an accident. 

10/15/12 -- Fort Myers, Florida:  Richard Arlen Kelley, 75, walked into Fowler Firearms and Gun Range for the second time, rented a gun, and spent 20 minutes shooting before turning the gun on himself and committing suicide.

10/19/12 -- Gardiner, Maine:  Kennebec County Sheriff, and Iraq War veteran, Randall Liberty was kneeling at a shooting range when he was struck in the back by a .45-caliber round.  Luckily, he was wearing a tactical vest which dissipated the round, and was uninjured other than a large bruise and swelling.

10/29/12 -- Cedar Falls, Iowa:  A man was allowing his 5-year old daughter to shoot a .22 rifle at Black Hawk Park's recreational  range when the girl's 8-year old brother walked across the firing line.  She unintentionally shot him once in the head.  No charges are being filed against the gun owner.

10/30/12 -- Fullerton, California:  A police officer was undergoing monthly qualifications in the police shooting range when he unintentionally shot himself in the leg, with minor injuries.

10/30/12 -- Wyoming, Michigan:  41-year old Mark Sobie (a convicted felon who had in 2009 tried to rob a bank with a toy gun) rented a gun at the Silver Bullet Firearms shooting range and committed suicide with it, due to depression over the death of his son. Though a convicted felon, Sobie did not have to undergo a background check to rent the gun.

11/4/12 -- Ferris, Texas:  Veteran firearms trainer Sonny Puzikas decided to have one last run through a "close combat" shooting range at the Texas Defensive Shooting Academy, where, according to the founder, "allows shooters the ability to shoot the way they want, without the stringent rules imposed like most other ranges."  Unfortunately, the area wasn't clear, and Puzikas unintentionally shot an assistant shooting instructor three times, in the abdomen, hand, and bicep. Luckily he will survive.

11/7/12 -- San Antonio, Texas:  A man rented a gun at the A Place To Shoot gun range and, after firing off a number of rounds, killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot using the weapon. It was ruled a suicide after two suicide notes were found in his car.

11/13/12 -- Alamance County, North Carolina:  An Alamance County Sheriff's Deputy was in the midst of firearm certification at the Sheriff's Department shooting range when he stumbled while holstering his weapon, unintentionally shooting himself with his .40-caliber handgun.  His wound was non-life-threatening.

11/24/12 -- Cheatham County, Tennessee:  A 13-year old boy was with his family and was retrieving targets.  That's when a woman moved a number of firearms on a nearby bench, discharging a .22-caliber revolver and striking the boy in the abdomen.  Luckily the wound was not life-threatening.

11/29/12 -- Nevada, Texas:  A 5-year old boy was injured by flying glass, and narrowly missed, when a stray bullet went through his car window, shot from the neighboring Armadillo Gun Range, despite the use of dirt berms around the range.

11/30/12 -- West Columbia, South Carolina:  A 62-year old man was taking apart his gun at Shooter's Choice gun range when he unintentionally discharged it, shooting himself in the chest.  He died shortly after.

1/19/13 -- El Paso, Texas:  A woman at the Dragonman's pistol range unintentionally fired her gun while reloading.  The round hit a trash can and the ricochet wounded her on the leg.  Another woman was also slightly hurt.

1/20/13 -- Marshfield, Wisconsin:  53-year-old Stephen Sammartino at the Wood County Rifle Range was attempting to clear his gun when he unintentionally discharged it, hitting his 25-year old son in the back.  His son was flown to the hospital in critical condition.  No charges.

2/2/13 -- Glen Rose, Texas:  Famed, record-holding SEAL team sniper, gun trainer, and pro-gun spokesman Chris Kyle, was shot to death, along with another man, by a suspect who suffered from PTSD and other serious mental illness, at a shooting range at the Rough Creek Lodge.

2/5/13 -- Hatfield Township, Pennsylvania:   Sgt. Stephen Gillen, a 23-year police veteran, of the Upper Gwynedd Township Police Department was conducting annual firearms training at a police shooting range when he unintentionally fired a round into his left foot while he was removing the weapon from his holster.

2/24/13 -- Dallas, Texas:  A shooter at the DFW Gun Range stupidly decided to use tracer bullets while target shooting. Being a type of small flare, they caught the building on fire. Around 50 people had to be evacuated as the building was engulfed in flames, with multiple small explosions, in this four-alarm fire.  No charges were filed.

2/27/13 -- Dalton, Georgia:  A young girl was allowed to shoot a double-barreled shotgun at the Chestnut Mountain Shooting Range.  The kickback was too strong for the girl after she fired the gun, causing her to drop the weapon, whereupon it discharged again.  The shot hit and injured two people in their legs.  No charges were filed against the girl or whomever allowed her to shoot.

3/3/13 -- Waldorf, Maryland:  61-year-old Patrick Allen Richards of Hughesville, who was target shooting at The St. Charles Sportsman's Club, unintentionally discharged his gun while it was pointed at his upper body, possibly as part of a recoil accident.  The shot killed him.

3/22/13 -- Gaston County, North Carolina: A student at the Gastonia Police Firearms and Tactical Training Center shooting range had problems with his handgun, and while investigating it with a trainer, they discharged it, hitting a deputy from the Gaston County Sheriff's Office in the hip.

TOTAL: 46