Gun safety among children

In 2004 the American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed an earlier position "that the absence of guns from children's homes and communities is the most reliable and effective measure to prevent firearm related injuries in children and adolescents." The AAP goes on to propose banning hand guns and semi automatic assault weapons in a position paper.

What drove the AAP to these conclusions? Compare the number of children and adolescents admitted to hospitals with gunshot wounds in Toronto with a typical U.S. city. In Toronto, a half of one percent of pediatric patients had gunshot wounds, compared to five percent, ten times the percentage in a typical U.S. city.

It is distressing to see that the National Rifle Association's Eddie Eagle Program will be part of the Highlands County Library's Youth Summer Program. This was mentioned in Highlands Today on July 2.

The NRA is a lobbying organization dedicated to putting more guns in the hands of criminals. As a lobby group, the NRA twists the facts when it uses them at all. The NRA often sues cities and states to advance its radical program. How did the NRA get to be considered a harmless organization that should have access to our libraries and our children?

Two scientific papers considering the effectiveness of the Eddie Eagle Program are posted on the Web site of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Both conclude that other programs do a better job of promoting gun safe behavior among children. The AAP is somewhat skeptical that any educational program on gun safety can work with children as young as six. Children at that age do not fully understand the finality of death so no approach can fully impart the danger posed by loaded guns left lying around.

The Eddie Eagle Program puts the responsibility for gun safety on children instead of adults, where it belongs, the Violence Policy Center has commented.

Dale L. Gillis
Sebring