Guns & Kids -- This Is Just WRONG!!!!!

[otohara]

144. 2010, 15,576 children and teenagers were injured by firearms

Adolescent Boys
The majority of children, ages 14 and under, killed unintentionally by a firearm, are boys. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) considers homes with adolescent boys at a higher risk for unintentional firearm-related injury and death.

Accessible firearms in the home
Parents often underestimate their child's ability to gain access to the firearm in the house, or even the child's ability to pull the trigger. Statistics show that 75 percent to 80 percent of first and second graders who live in a home with a firearm know where the firearm is kept. In addition, children as young as 3 may be strong enough to pull the trigger of a firearm.

Accessible firearms at another home
Even if your home does not contain a firearm, your neighbor, friend, or relative may have an accessible firearm in the house.

Ammunition and firearms stored together
When a firearm is locked away with ammunition, or left loaded, it greatly increases the risk of unintentional firearm-related injury and death. It is estimated that between one-third and one-half of all firearm owners keep their firearms loaded and ready for use at least some of the time.http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/patientcare/healthcare_services/emergency_services/non_traumatic_emergencies/firearms_safety/Pages/index.aspx

Epidemic: Guns kill twice as many kids as cancer does

Nationally, guns still kill twice as many children and young people than cancer, five times as many than heart disease and 15 times more than infection, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.

"We see guns as much of a threat in their life as we used to see bacteria and viruses," said Dr. Judith S. Palfrey, a past president of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the co-author of the New England journal report. "If you look at what's actually killing children and disabling children, guns is one of the major things."http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/11/guns-child-deaths-more-than-cancer/2073259/