Gun control

Pediatrics for Parents, July-August, 1993

The epidemic of violence in this country affects all our children. Over 3,000 American children were killed in 1992 by handguns, with many more injured. In addition, there is the mental stress of the ever-present violence in many neighborhoods. The risk of a suicide in a home with a gun is five-times greater than in homes without a gun.

Every morning about 100,000 students in the US head off to school carrying a gun. A quarter of all school districts regularly use metal detectors. Over the past 10 years there's been a 93% increase in the number of Americans under 18 years old arrested for murder. During the same time, the increase for adults was only ten percent.

A recent Louis Harris poll showed "an extraordinary change in public opinion about handgun control in the United States." The poll found that 52% of the 1,250 adults surveyed favor "a federal law banning the ownership of all handguns, except those given permission by a court of law." Forty-five percent disagreed, and 5% were not sure. These figures represent a remarkable change from 1990 only 41% of those surveyed favored the proposal.

Other interesting findings include:

* Only 29% believed most children are safe in their schools.

* Twenty percent of the parents said they have, or know someone who has a child that was wounded or killed by another child with a handgun.

* Over 15% know a child who accidentally shot himself or herself with a handgun.

Harris concluded that "The American people have come to believe that the widespread possession of guns has created a pall of violence across the land that has engulfed the lives of children."

Firearms Facts - 1990 Handgun Deaths
Country          Deaths    Population
Japan                87   128,000,000
Canada               68    26,832,000
United Kingdom       22    55,486,000
United States    10,567   248,708,900