Do civilians with guns ever stop mass shootings'

Innocents Lost
A Year of Unintentional Child Gun Deaths
REPORTS UNINTENTIONAL DEATHS
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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
June 24, 2014

Federal data from the Centers for Disease Control indicate that between 2007 and 2011, an average of 62 children age 14 and under were accidentally shot and killed each year. But our analysis of publicly reported gun deaths shows that the federal data substantially undercount these deaths.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In Asheboro, North Carolina, a 26-year-old mother was cleaning her home when she heard a gunshot. Rushing into the living room, she discovered that her three-year-old son had accidentally shot her boyfriend�s three-year-old daughter with a .22-caliber rifle the parents had left in the room, loaded and unlocked.1

In Fayette County, Pennsylvania, a two-year-old toddler took his stepfather�s pistol out of his mother�s purse and shot himself in the head while the adults were in another room.2 And in northeast Houston, when his mother stepped away for a moment, a five-year-old boy picked up a loaded rifle and accidentally shot his older brother in the back.3

American children are sixteen times more likely to be killed in unintentional shootings than their peers in other high-income countries.

In all three incidents, adults left loaded and unlocked guns easily accessible to children. Miraculously, the children survived their injuries. But in far too many unintentional shootings they do not.

Federal data from the Centers for Disease Control indicate that between 2007 and 2011, an average of 62 children age 14 and under died each year in unintentional shootings.4 By this measure, American children are sixteen times more likely to be killed in unintentional shootings than their peers in other high-income countries.5

But our analysis of publicly reported gun deaths in the twelve months after the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, shows that the federal data substantially undercount these deaths:

From December 2012 to December 2013, at least 100 children were killed in unintentional shootings � almost two each week, 61 percent higher than federal data reflect. And even this larger number reflects just a fraction of the total number of children injured or killed with guns in the U.S. each year, regardless of the intent.
About two-thirds of these unintended deaths � 65 percent � took place in a home or vehicle that belonged to the victim�s family, most often with guns that were legally owned but not secured. Another 19 percent took place in the home of a relative or friend of the victim.
More than two-thirds of these tragedies could be avoided if gun owners stored their guns responsibly and prevented children from accessing them. Of the child shooting deaths in which there was sufficient information available to make the determination, 70 percent (62 of 89 cases) could have been prevented if the firearm had been stored locked and unloaded. By contrast, incidents in which an authorized user mishandled a gun � such as target practice or hunting accidents � constituted less than thirty percent of the incidents.
While our analysis finds these tragedies to be far more common than previously reported, it also gives reason for optimism. First and foremost, it shows that unintentional child gun deaths can be prevented: if fewer gun owners left their guns loaded and unlocked, fewer children would lose their lives.

Second, we provide the first detailed analysis of a twelve-month period of unintentional ch ild deaths across the country � including how the shooters obtained the guns; where the fatal shootings occurred; who pulled the trigger; whether the deaths resulted in criminal charges; and, crucially, whether the deaths could have been avoided if guns were stored safely.

Finally, based on these findings and the existing scientific research, the report presents several ways that we can reduce the number of children killed in unintentional shootings � including enhancing responsible firearm storage by educating gun owners; deterring irresponsible storage practices through child access prevention laws; and fostering new technologies.

It concludes with several recommendations:

States should adopt stronger laws to prevent children from accessing unsecured guns, by authorizing criminal charges if an adult gun owner stores his or her gun negligently, a child gains access to the firearm, and harm results.
Congress should appropriate funds for research to improve public health surveillance of unintentional child gun deaths and to develop effective educational materials for promoting safe storage.
Congress should earmark funding for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to evaluate and set standards for emerging technologies that promote gun safety, such as biometric gun safes.
Doctors should be allowed and encouraged to promote gun safety, and efforts to gag physicians should be opposed.
Greater awareness of the issue should be promoted through a national public education campaign enlisting law enforcement, corporate, and non-profit partners.

"Newsbot" said
Do civilians with guns ever stop mass shootings?

"andyt" said
It's too late for the US. Change the 2nd amendment to "the duty to bear arms at all times..." and leave them to their insanity. Just stop them at the border.

"andyt" said
We certainly don't need your civilian nutbars and their guns, and I can't recall a time we needed your troops either. Seems to me we gave them a spanking last time they tried that.

"Thanos" said
I totally respect the US military. I have no respect for some poorly educated American cretin that thinks he has to collect a hundred firearms, and parade around with them in a place like Walmart, because Alex Jones or Wayne LaPierre has convinced said cretin that he has to do this to keep Obama at bay.