The following guest post was written and shared with us by IFC supporter Dean Ballweg.
If you have kids we strongly recommend the NRA’s Eddie Eagle Gun Safe Program.
Since I have firearms in a home with 3 small children and I carry on a near daily basis, I did some thinking about how I have my firearms secured, both at home and on my person. I also thought about what I’ve taught, and continue to teach, my children about what to do if they see/find a firearm (anywhere) and about how and what I’m teaching them firearms safety. As usually happens for me, this lead me to doing some research, this time about firearms accidents.
In 2011*, according to the CDC, there were 126, 438 accidental deaths in the United States. These break out as follows:
Accidental deaths due to:
1) Motor vehicle accidents – 35,303
2) Other land transport accidents – 950
3) Water/air/space/other/unspecified transport accidents – 1,770
4) Falls – 27,483
5) Accidental poisoning/exposure to noxious substances – 36,280
6) Accidental drowning/submersion – 3,556
7) Accidental exposure to smoke/fire/flames – 2,746
8) Accidental discharge of firearms – 591
9) Other/unspecified non-transport accidents – 17,759
That’s right. Of the 9 leading causes of accidental deaths…firearms related accidents come in at 9th place, with nearly half the number of deaths of the next lowest cause of accidental deaths and fewer than 1/60 of the number of deaths attributed to the leading cause of accidental deaths.
How many times more likely are you do die from one of the other 8 causes of accidental death than from a firearm accident?
-Motor vehicle accidents – 59.73x
-Other land transport accidents – 1.61x
-Water/air/space/other/unspecified transport accidents – 2.99x
-Falls – 46.52x
-Accidental poisoning/exposure to noxious substances – 61.39x
-Accidental drowning/submersion – 6.02x
-Accidental exposure to smoke/fire/flames – 4.65x
-Other/unspecified non-transport accidents – 30.05x
*This is the last year for which CDC data is readily available.
Iowa Firearms Coalition is an entirely volunteer, grassroots, 2nd Amendment advocacy group. Responsible for bringing uniformity to Iowa’s Concealed Weapons Permitting process, IFC’s members work to protect and enhance 2nd Amendment rights in Iowa. An affiliate of the National Rifle Association, the IFC actively seeks to foster and promote the shooting sports. Sign up for our email list for the latest on 2nd Amendment issues in Iowa. You can support our work by becoming a member, or making a donation.
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