A lot more kids killed in gun accidents than gov't says, study finds

[groundloop]

Source: CBS News

Hours earlier, he was a happy 4-year-old who loved Ironman and the Hulk and all the Avengers. Now, as Bryson Mees-Hernandez approached death in a Houston hospital room, his brain swelling through the bullet hole in his face, his mother assured the boy it was OK to die.

<snip>

The Associated Press and the USA TODAY Network set out to determine just how many others there have been. The findings: During the first six months of this year, minors died from accidental shootings - at their own hands, or at the hands of other children or adults - at a pace of one every other day, far more than limited federal statistics indicate.

Using information collected by the Gun Violence Archive, a nonpartisan research group, news reports and public sources, the media outlets spent six months analyzing the circumstances of every death and injury from accidental shootings involving children ages 17 and younger from Jan. 1, 2014, to June 30 of this year - more than 1,000 incidents in all.

Among the findings:

* Deaths and injuries spike for children under 5, with 3-year-olds the most common shooters and victims among young children.
* Accidental shootings spike again for ages 15-17, when victims are most often fatally shot by other children but typically survive self-inflicted gunshots.
* States in the South are among those with the highest per capita rates of accidental shootings involving minors.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/accidental-gun-deaths-shooting-children-undercounted-cdc-ap-usa-today/

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There's much more information in the linked article. For one thing, experts at the CDC are convinced that the NRA cites statistics which greatly underestimate the risk of guns posed to children, and that the results of this study by AP and USA Today are not surprising.

[HAB911]

1. NRA chickens coming home to roost

[groundloop]

2. Yes, and because of them AP and USA Today are doing CDC's work

It's absolutely un-fucking-believable that the NRA has been able to suppress the gather of factual information by the CDC. They're obviously afraid of what the facts will show, otherwise they wouldn't be working so hard to prevent the CDC from doing studies on gun deaths.

[HAB911]

3. Small consolation that it is depleting

their breeding stock

[pintobean]

4. Classy

[HAB911]

6. thank you

would you like to dispute the accuracy? LOL

[perdita9]

5. Are people who die of gun violence no longer American?

Congress certainly treats them as if they are less valuable that another citizen that dies of influenza or a car accident. With those things, politicians take action to pass laws to try and actively lower the death rate but, if you die of bullets, they offer you nothing but thoughts and prayers.

[groundloop]

7. Well, the NRA certainly wants to sweep you under the rug if you dare be killed by a gun

And until we elect CongressCritters who aren't afraid of the NRA this is unlikely to change.

[perdita9]

14. Sad, but accurate

[maxsolomon]

10. Hiding in the bunker labelled Reality

Pro-gun forces (including the loud-as-fuck ones on DU) have made common sense on guns toxic, and insist on an archaic, literalist interpretation of the 2nd amendment.

The tide is still flowing towards less regulation. It took generations to get to this point (40 years), it will take generations to get back to sanity. Swing-district Dems going to the mat over Gun Regulation when they don't control either house of the Legislature OR the SCOTUS is pointless.

Private citizens are doing a fine job drawing public attention to the issue.

[sarisataka]

9. Can anyone explain the discrepancy?

Also this is an odd statement.

experts at the CDC are convinced that the NRA cites statistics which greatly underestimate the risk of guns posed to children

According to the article it is the CDC's statistics that are in error.

[Igel]

12. It's fine.

The CDC thinks it's stats are low, so citing them is bad.

The real problem is the mismatch of government vs private stats. One side has an interest in a larger number of deaths and when evaluating sources might act on that bias. .

[sarisataka]

16. I do add several grams of salt

To findings by a group with a vested interest in a subject that runs highly contrary to statistics provided by a neutral source.

[groundloop]

13. The NRA is using the low stats to fight more regulation

Yes, it's the current CDC stats which are in error (because they're prohibited by law from doing research on the subject thanks to the pro-gun lobby). The NRA is using these stats in their fight against more regulation.

[sarisataka]

15. What I am looking for is the reason

The CDC statistics are in error. A restriction on Research has absolutely nothing to do with tabulating death. Why is it called a newspaper articles is more reliable than government provided the statistics?

As we have seen often news reports are in error. Could it be that some accidental death as reported in newspapers are eventually classed as homicide or suicide by the CDC? The only way to determine that would require a complete breakdown of gun-related homicide, suicide and accidental deaths by minors.

A further question would be is the NRA using a source other than the CDC which is reporting an even lower number?

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

19. The CDC does not need to "research" what is reported to them.

They are not county coroners. They are responsible for tabulating the statistics. Those stats are available on the internet.
http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate10_us.html

For 2014 firearm deaths:
# of fatalities for ages 17 and under due to all intents and manners- 1,331
# of Unintentional fatalities for ages 17 and under- 74
# of Violence related fatalities for ages 17 and under- 1,238
# of deaths due to Undetermined Intent for ages 17 and under- 19

Form the linked article: Using information collected by the Gun Violence Archive, a nonpartisan research group, news reports and public sources, the media outlets spent six months analyzing the circumstances of every death and injury from accidental shootings involving children ages 17 and younger from Jan. 1, 2014, to June 30 of this year - more than 1,000 incidents in all.

If the number of incidents mentioned in the article was say out of whack with CDC stats I found, then maybe there's an issue.

I'm not seeing a reason to doubt. I don't see that the NRA is involved in the collection or analysis but simply quoting what the CDC publish.

[Squaredeal]

11. As young boys, we had often asked our dad to buy a gun...

...and his response to us always remained, "Are you kidding? One of you kids would end up killing one of your siblings."
I think that this common sense advice needs to be addressed in legislation to convince the way too many irresponsible gun owners that they are responsible to keep their firearms secured from others getting and using them or face criminal and liable prosecution. I don't want my kids, or anyone in my family shot. No one does. We need to know where and how any gun used in the commission a crime or accidental shooting was obtained and to go after the careless. legal owner.

[Blue_Tires]

17. We just had one locally

After parking in front of Hawkingberry’s home, Wagner took out a gun he kept in the vehicle and loaded a magazine. The 22-year-old was putting the firearm back when it hit the steering wheel, according to a bail determination sheet filed this week in District Court. The gun fired, striking Hawkingberry in the neck, the document said.

http://pilotonline.com/news/local/crime/court-documents-indicate-sailor-accidentally-shot-teenage-friend-in-virginia/article_c58ee96f-c50a-58ed-917a-390978569ef8.html


Who does this shit? Why does every mook with a gun feel they have to show it off to all their friends?

[ileus]

18. Fuck the NRA!

[HAB911]

20. Guns don't kill people, toddlers do

In a brutal video meant to highlight the glut of gun in the U.S., it is recommended that toddlers who get a hold of guns and accidentally shoot their siblings or parents be incarcerated or deported.

The video is the creation of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

The video – called “Guns Don’t Kill People, Toddlers Do,” – features an assortment of small children handling guns while the narrator ominously warns that toddlers can’t be trusted and should be sent away.

“We need to lock them up,” the narrator explains. “Not the guns – that’s just un-American. Round them up. Deport them. Get them out of our country. And keep them away from guns.”

The idea behind the video is the common refrain from the NRA that “guns don’t kill people, people do.”

Flipping the script, the Brady Center points out that “Americans are shot by toddlers every week,” and are therefore the real problem — not too many guns.

According to Brendan Kelly, press secretary for the Brady Campaign, “We were hoping it would speak to the absurdity that we see as the gun debate in America,”

27 states have enacted child access prevention laws — reports the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence — which aim to protect children from accessing guns in their homes by criminally charging negligent parents who leave guns unsecured, leading to tragedy.

[HAB911]

21. From the debate

Killer toddlers