"They can and do hurt and kill people. Every day, 10 children die, and many more are seriously injured, by guns."
The problem with this claim is that most of these "children" are 19 year old gang members.
"In a study of gun death rates for children under 15 years of age in 26 industrialized countries, the overall gun death rate in the U.S. was nearly 12 times higher than in the other 25 countries combined"
The U.S. has a higher population, making the argument based on these out of context statistics specious.
"Gun-related deaths accounted for 22.5% of all injury deaths in children and adolescents ages 1 to 19; among adolescents 15 through 19 years of age, gun-related deaths accounted for 32.2% of all injury deaths in the United States in 1997"
More children drown in the bathtub than die from being shot. And what is an 'injury death'. Is that different from regular death?
"Forty-one percent of American households own guns. "
Exactly, meaning that guns are one of the least likely (statistically speaking) objects in your house to kill you.
"Most gun-owning families store guns loaded, unlocked, or both."
A gun is inert, and therefore useless, without bullets. Since most guns are used for self defense, having them unload and dissasembled/locked would be more dangerous, not less.
"Non-gun owners, the vast majority of whom are women (87%), may be unaware that guns in their homes are stored in a manner that experts agree is unsafe."
Why do non gun owners have guns in their homes? Do ninjas sneak in and plant them there? And who are these experts, anyway? Give me a name.
"Easy access to a gun at home is a risk factor for weapon-related violence for adolescent White and Black males and Black females, grades 7 through 12."
How much of a risk? What are the statistics? What about when the children are trained in gun safety? Show me some more detail.
"Keep guns out of the home! The American Academy of Pediatrics has stated that this is the most effective way of protecting children from gun injury."
GAHH! Blinding flash of the obvious! Unfortunately, that's a little impractical, considering a home invader might break in and slaughter the defesless family. Furthermore, your bribed pediatricians can take their American Academy of Pediatrics and ram it up their butts for all I care.
"Know the facts and be up front about them with your children."
Unfortunately, you mean YOUR propaganda, not the "facts."
"Start early! Talk to young children early and more often about the danger of guns."
Beware children, if you ever see a gun, it's going to come to life and crawl up your @$$!
"Since 41% of American households own guns(9), parents should ASK the adults in any house their child visits, if there is a gun in the home. "
So what if there is? Ask if the children are trained and the adults can handle a firearm.
"While gun safety education programs and student pledges place the burden of responsibility and safety from gun trauma on children and young people, the Million Mom March believes that adults bear the burden of responsibility for insuring that children and young people live and grow up in safe environments, free from gun trauma. "
Yes, we all know, guns are evil robot replicons from beyond the moon, and the mere presence of a gun will traumatize a child for life.
"Gun safety education programs for children claim to teach kids to avoid playing with guns, and to notify an adult if they find a gun. Safety experts know from long experience that education programs alone don't change behavior enough to significantly reduce injury risk.(11) Those in favor of such programs claim that they reduce children's risk of gun injury. The facts show that they don't. These programs are ineffective and could even be dangerous by giving parents and adults a false sense of security."
WHAT EXPERTS?
"A study of a kid's gun safety program relying exclusively on education found that the program didn't work. A group of children in two North Carolina pre-schools were taught by a police officer that they should never touch a gun without their parents' knowledge and supervision, and that they should immediately tell an adult if they ever saw a gun. Another group from the same pre-schools did not receive safety training. A week later, both groups were videotaped in a structured play setting that included (disabled) guns. Children who had received the safety training were just as likely to play with the guns as the other children.(12)"
Who conducted this study? Did the children know the guns were disabled? What were the controls on the experiment?
"Another study illustrates that the National Rifle Association's Eddie Eagle gun safety education program incorporates "strategies similar to those utilized by America's tobacco industry," and uses its "education" program as a marketing tool for the gun industry.(13) Researchers have documented incidents in which children were unintentionally shot by other children who had recently attended gun safety training. (14) In another study, an Eddie Eagle video was shown to children who received safety training, but again, as in a previous study, this did not prevent most of the trained children from playing with guns.(15)"
What researchers do you mean? Who are they? How do I contact them? Do you have these video tapes? If not, where can I obtain them?
