One American Child Dies Every 3 hours From GSW-
One American Child or Teen Killed by Gunfire Nearly Every 3 Hours
2/4/2005
Press Release
Children's Defense Fund
25 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-628-8787
www.childrensdefense.org
Contact:
Avram Goldstein
Phone: 202-662-3615
Ron Eckstein
Phone: 202-662-3609
New Data Show National Death Toll Reached 2,867 in 2002
The horrific death toll from gunfire in the United States included 2,867 children and teens in 2002 -- nearly eight deaths a day and 55 a week, according to a report released today by the Children's Defense Fund. Firearms are the second leading cause of death among 10- to 19-year olds, second only to motor vehicle accidents. There were 71 victims under 5 years old. From 1979 through 2002, a total of 95,761 children and teens were killed by firearms in America.
CDF published the latest figures today in "Protect Children, Not Guns," an annual report that analyzes data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report covers 2002, the most recent year for which national figures are available. CDF analysts broke down the data by state, race, age and manner of death. All the figures are available on the CDF website at www.childrensdefense.org.
CDF President Marian Wright Edelman called for an end to the killing and urged political leaders to take action. "Why are we as a nation so silent in the face of this slaughter of children?" she asked. "At this critical time when the President and our elected leaders in Congress are making budget and legislative decisions, it is more important than ever for parents, faith leaders and citizens to raise a moral voice in favor of choices that protect children."
In September, President Bush and Congress allowed the federal Assault Weapons Ban to expire after 10 years, making it legal for Americans to buy rapid-fire military-style firearms that are engineered to kill large numbers of people in seconds. In the decade preceding the ban's passage in 1994, the number of children and teens who died from gunfire increased each year. During the ban, the number of deaths of children and teens decreased steadily. In 2002, the annual toll in those age groups was 50 percent lower than in 1994.
"Since 1979, nearly 96,000 children and teenagers have died on the killing fields of America -- more than twice the American battle deaths in Vietnam," Edelman said. "But where are the demonstrations protesting the senseless loss of these children? Why did the President and Congress let the Assault Weapons Ban expire when these deadly firearms are designed only to kill human beings, not to hunt? Why is the NRA able to block the collective will of more than two-thirds of Americans, who favor common-sense gun safety laws?"
The report calls on all Americans to take concrete steps to keep children safe, including advocating for more sensible gun control measures. "Every day in this country we lose almost eight children to the epidemic of gun violence," said Edelman. "The rate of gun deaths in this country is higher than any other industrialized nation, and there is a reason for that. It is time to stop promoting the gun industry and start protecting our children."
Date of Release: January 31, 2005
2/4/2005
Press Release
Children's Defense Fund
25 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-628-8787
www.childrensdefense.org
Contact:
Avram Goldstein
Phone: 202-662-3615
Ron Eckstein
Phone: 202-662-3609
New Data Show National Death Toll Reached 2,867 in 2002
The horrific death toll from gunfire in the United States included 2,867 children and teens in 2002 -- nearly eight deaths a day and 55 a week, according to a report released today by the Children's Defense Fund. Firearms are the second leading cause of death among 10- to 19-year olds, second only to motor vehicle accidents. There were 71 victims under 5 years old. From 1979 through 2002, a total of 95,761 children and teens were killed by firearms in America.
CDF published the latest figures today in "Protect Children, Not Guns," an annual report that analyzes data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report covers 2002, the most recent year for which national figures are available. CDF analysts broke down the data by state, race, age and manner of death. All the figures are available on the CDF website at www.childrensdefense.org.
CDF President Marian Wright Edelman called for an end to the killing and urged political leaders to take action. "Why are we as a nation so silent in the face of this slaughter of children?" she asked. "At this critical time when the President and our elected leaders in Congress are making budget and legislative decisions, it is more important than ever for parents, faith leaders and citizens to raise a moral voice in favor of choices that protect children."
In September, President Bush and Congress allowed the federal Assault Weapons Ban to expire after 10 years, making it legal for Americans to buy rapid-fire military-style firearms that are engineered to kill large numbers of people in seconds. In the decade preceding the ban's passage in 1994, the number of children and teens who died from gunfire increased each year. During the ban, the number of deaths of children and teens decreased steadily. In 2002, the annual toll in those age groups was 50 percent lower than in 1994.
"Since 1979, nearly 96,000 children and teenagers have died on the killing fields of America -- more than twice the American battle deaths in Vietnam," Edelman said. "But where are the demonstrations protesting the senseless loss of these children? Why did the President and Congress let the Assault Weapons Ban expire when these deadly firearms are designed only to kill human beings, not to hunt? Why is the NRA able to block the collective will of more than two-thirds of Americans, who favor common-sense gun safety laws?"
The report calls on all Americans to take concrete steps to keep children safe, including advocating for more sensible gun control measures. "Every day in this country we lose almost eight children to the epidemic of gun violence," said Edelman. "The rate of gun deaths in this country is higher than any other industrialized nation, and there is a reason for that. It is time to stop promoting the gun industry and start protecting our children."
Date of Release: January 31, 2005
posted by Steve Nawojczyk at
12:03 PM
2 Comments:
No one cares because its not happening in the afluent communities accross America. It's happing to poor Black, Hispanic and White childern. Thats themnajor difference
I understand that any deaths of children is a sad and horrible thing but please do not spread lies about gun owner ship and use the "deaths of children" to try and push gun control. The following information and many more gun facts can be found at gunfacts.info
*Myth: 13 children are killed each day by guns
Fact: Adults included – This “statistic” includes “children” up to age 19 or 24,
depending on the source. Since most violent crime is committed by males ages 16-24,
these numbers include adult gang members dying during criminal activity
(incidentally, ‘child’ is defined by Webster as a person between birth and puberty,
typically 13-14 years).
Fact: Criminals are included - 70% of these deaths are adults, age 17-20, involved in
gang warfare. Half of the juveniles killed are involved in gang activity at the time of their
deaths, often involved in drug
related firefights.
Fact: Suicides and criminals
included - These numbers
include criminal activities and
suicides.100 As suicides make up
more than ½ of all gun deaths,
the number drops even further,
to about 1.3 children a day. 101
Fact: The federal government
lists the total firearm related
deaths for children were 612, or
1.7 per day, in 1998. 154 were
suicides102
Fact: Over 13 teenagers die
every day in automobiles, seven behind the wheel.
Fact: Four children die each day in the U.S. from parental neglect and abuse.104
Fact: For contrast: 1,917 children die each day from malaria105 and that 15 men,
women, and children per day are murdered by a convicted felon in government
supervised parole/probation programs.
*Myth: Stricter gun control laws could have prevented
the Columbine massacre
Fact: Harris and Klebold violated close to 20 firearms laws in obtaining weapons.
Would 21 laws really have made a difference? The two shotguns and rifle used by
Harris and Klebold were purchased by a girlfriend who passed a background check, and
the TEC-9 handgun used was already banned.
*Myth: School yard shootings are an epidemic
Fact: In states without “right to carry” laws, there have been 15 school shootings. In
states that allow citizens to carry guns, there has been only one.107
Fact: The five school shootings that occurred during the '97-98
school year took place after the 1995 Gun-Free School Zones law
was enacted, banning guns within 1,000 feet of a school.108
Fact: In Pearl, Mississippi, the assistant principal had formerly
carried a firearm to school. When the 1995 "Gun-Free School
Zones" law passed, he began locking his firearm in his car and
parking at least a quarter-mile away from the school. When that
shooting incident started, he ran to his car, got his gun, ran back,
disarmed the shooter and held him on the ground until the police
arrived. Had the law not been passed, the assistant principal might
have prevented the two deaths and seven shooting-related injuries.
*Myth: More than 1,300 children commit suicide with guns
Fact: This statistic includes “children” ages 18-19.
Fact: Worldwide, the per capita suicide rate is fairly static (the suicide rate of the U.S. is
lower than many industrial countries, including many where private gun ownership is
banned). A certain fraction of the population will commit suicide regardless of the
available tools.
Fact: The firearm and nonfirearm
rate of suicide
among children age 15 and
under was virtually
unchanged in states that
passed and maintained
“safe storage” laws for four
or more years.109
Fact: People, including
children, who are
determined to commit
suicide will find a way.
There is a documented
case of a man who killed
himself by drilling a hole in
his own skull using a power
drill.110
Fact: Banning country music might
be more effective – one study shows
51% of the suicide differential can be
traced to country music.111
*Myth: Guns in America
spark youth violence
Fact: Non-firearm juvenile violent
crime rate in the U.S. is twice that of
25 other industrialized western
nations. The non-firearm infanthomicide
rate in the U.S. is 3.5 times
higher.112 Thus we have a violence
problem – not a “gun” problem.
Fact: Indeed, non-firearm related homicides for kids out-rank gun related homicides by
kids almost 5-to-1113
*Myth: If it saves the life of one child, it is worth it
Fact: Firearms in private hands are used 2.5 million times each year to prevent crime,
or 6,849 times every day 114, including rapes, aggravated assaults, and kidnapping. The
number of innocent children protected by firearm owning parents far outweighs the
number hurt by guns.
Fact: Most Americans (if they are firearm owners or not) believe that it is the way
parents raise their kids that cause gun violence. Among non-firearm owners, 38% said
it was parental neglect that causes youth violence, while only 28% thought it was due to
the availability of guns.115 They may be right as most homicides of kids under age five
are by their own parents. Mothers killed 31% and another 31% were killed by fathers.116
*Myth: Trigger locks will keep children from accidentally
shooting themselves
Fact: 31 of 32 models of gun locks tested by the government’s Consumer Product
Safety Commission could be opened without the key. According to their spokesperson,
"We found you could open locks with paper clips, a pair of scissors or tweezers, or you
could whack them on the table and they would open.”117
Fact: Schoolyard shooting deaths are not rising. In fact, they have been falling though
most of the 1990s:118
Fact: 85% percent of all the communities in America recorded no juvenile homicides in
1995, and 93.4% recorded one or no juvenile arrests for murder.119
Fact: Only 10% of public schools reported one or more serious violent crimes during the
1996-97 school year.120
Fact: In 1996, even though there were around 80 million people owning guns, there
were only 44 accidental gun deaths for children under age 10, or about 0.0001%.121
Fact: California has a trigger lock law and saw a 12% increase in fatal firearm accidents
in 1994. Texas doesn't have one and experienced a 28% decrease in the same year.122
However, trigger-locks do render guns inaccessible for self-defense.
Fact: Children as young as seven (7) years old have demonstrated that they can pick or
break trigger locks, or operate a gun with a trigger lock in place.123 Over half of noncriminal
firearm deaths for children over age seven are suicides, so trigger locks are
unlikely to reduce these deaths.
Fact: If criminals are deterred from attacking victims because of the fear that people
might be able to defend themselves, gunlocks may in turn reduce the cost of criminals
committing crime, and thus increase crime. This problem is exacerbated because many
mechanical locks (such as barrel or trigger locks) also require that the gun be stored
unloaded.
*Myth: More children are hurt with guns than by any means
Fact: Less than 2% of all unintentional injury deaths for children in the U.S. between
ages 0-14 are from firearms.124
Fact: The Center for Disease Control, a
federal agency, agrees. According to them, in 1998, kids 0-14 years died from
the following causes in the U.S. 125
Fact: Children are 12 times more likely to
die in an automobile accident than from gun-related homicides or legal
interventions (being shot by a cop, for example) if they are age 0-14. For the group 0-24 years old (which bends the definition of “child” quite a bit), the rate is still 8.6 times higher for cars.126
Fact: In 2001, there were only 72 accidental firearm deaths for children under age 15,
compared with over 2,100 kids that drowned (29 times as many drowning deaths as firearm deaths).127
Fact: Accidental firearm injuries for children and adolescents dropped 37% from 1993 to 1997, with the fastest drop – a 64% reduction - – being for children.128
Fact: Boys who own legal firearms have much lower rates of elinquency and drug use and are even less delinquent than non-owners of
guns.129
Fact: The non-gun homicide rate for children
in the U.S. is more than twice as high than
other western countries. And eight times as many children die from non-gun violent acts than from gun crimes.130 This indicates that
the problem is violence, not guns.
Fact: Fatal gun accidents for children ages 0-14 declined by almost 46% from 1975 to 1995, and 60% for all ages – all while the number of guns per capita ncreased by almost 40%.
Fact: 82% of homicides to children age 13 and under were committed without a gun.131
*Myth: Children should be kept away from guns for their own safety
Fact: 0% of kids that get guns from their parents commit gun-related crimes while 21%
of those that get them illegally do.132
Fact: Almost twice as many kids (24%) commit any type of street crime if they get guns
illegally, as opposed to kids given guns by their parents and taught the proper way to
use them (14%).133
Fact: Almost three times as many kids (41%) take drugs if they also obtain guns
illegally, as compared to kids given guns by their parents (13%).
Fact: In the 1950’s, kids routinely played cops and robbers, had toy guns, were given
BB rifles and small caliber hunting rifles before puberty. Yet the homicide rate in the
1950’s was almost half of that in the 1980’s.134
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