Public Health Topic:
The Dangers of Guns
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has just released the findings of a ten-year study on firearm-related injuries and deaths involving children and adolescents. The results will be published in the April edition of "Pediatrics", the official journal of the AAP. What they reveal is alarming.
In 1997 there were 32,436 firearm-related deaths in the United States, of which 4,223 involved individuals under the age of 20. In the same year, 85% of all homicides and 63% of all suicides involving 15 to 19 year olds were committed with firearms. Also in 1997, 306 children under the age of 20 were killed unintentionally by firearm 'accidents'.
The study also found that the overall rate of firearm-related death in children under the age of 15 was 12 times higher than that of 25 other industrialized nations; and the rate homicides committed with firearms was 16 times higher than that of the 25 countries combined.
In 1994 the cost of treating the 134,445 gunshot injuries was estimated to be around $2.3 billion, of which $1.1 billion was billed to the American taxpayer.
The AAP states the "because firearm-related injury to children is associated with death and severe morbidity and is a significant public health problem childcare professionals can and should provide effective leadership in the efforts to stem this epidemic." They conclude their findings by suggesting a number of ways in which healthcare professionals can aid in reducing the number of injuries and deaths as the result of firearms:
The most cost-effective way being removing guns from homes and communities. Healthcare professionals were urged to educated parents as to the danger of guns both inside and outside the home with pediatricians including questions about guns (particularly handguns as handguns continue to be the major contributor to firearm-related deaths) in their parent history. Pediatricians were also advised to urge parents with guns to removed them from the home. The AAP suggest that the power of handguns be limited through regulation of ammunition manufacturing and gun importation. Popular media was also urged to limit the romanticization of guns in films and music, as well toy and video game designers were encouraged to do the same.
The AAP also supports the development of a national surveillance data system by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics.
If you would like to read more, please visit the AAP web site at http://www.AAP.org.
NEW!!!!!! Today, April 5: The new law in Massachusetts
Massachusetts now has the toughest and most comprehensive firearm laws in the United States. The new laws, which are now in effect, include: the ban of sales of the 'Saturday Night Special'; child-proof locks on every gun sold in the state; tamper-resistant serial numbers; and indicators on all semiautomatic handguns to signal whether or not there is a bullet in the chamber.
The law was drafted in 1997 by the then Attorney General Scott Harsbarger. It was able to by-pass legislature by the clever utilization of the broad powers of the attorney general to regulate consumer products. Though 34 other states have similar laws allowing for the control of firearms as if they were 'consumer goods', Massachusetts is the only state that imposed such a law. Spot checks of gun sales shops begin in 15 days. Smith and Wesson (under the threat of a Federal lawsuit) has decided to provide external child safety locks for all its handguns within 60 days with built-in locks to follow within 2 years. Gun advocates argue that the child safety locks might give criminals an advantage by having a better chance of taking a victim by surprise.
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