Lott: Bound to Misfire

Bound to Misfire
This week President Bush’s program, Project Childsafe, begins
distributing 20 million gun locks. Over 712,000 locks will be given
out just in New York. It seems like such a reasonable program, who
could oppose it? After all, if a gun lock can save a life, it seems a
small cost. Unfortunately, despite the obvious feel-good appeal of
these rules, gun locks and safe storage laws are more likely to cost
lives than to save them.

Many have seen the public service ads put out by the Clinton Justice
Department showing the voices or pictures of children between the
ages of four and eight, implying that there is an epidemic of
accidental deaths of these young children. The ads create the
impression that the archetype case involves naturally curious
children shooting themselves or other children.
…
Accidental gun deaths tragically claim children’s lives, though
fortunately they are much rarer than most people might think. During
2000 there were 37 accidental gun deaths for children under 10 in the
U.S., In 1999 there were 31, and only six of these cases actually
involved a child firing the gun. Indeed from 1995 to 1999 the entire
United States saw only between five and nine cases a year where a
child under ten either accidentally shot themselves or another child.

Obviously we want to avoid any deaths where possible, but some
perspective is useful. With over 90 million adults owning a gun and
almost 40 million children under 10, it is hard to think of almost
any other potentially dangerous products kept in American homes that
have as few accidental deaths associated with them. Over 1,260
children under ten died in cars in 1999. Another 370 died as
pedestrians hit by cars. Accidents involving residential fires took
484 children’s lives. Even 92 children under the age of five drowned
accidentally in bathtubs.

The overwhelming majority of gun owners must be extremely careful or
such gun accidents would be much more frequent.
…
http://techcentralstation.com/110703D.html