Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Public Health Researchers Use Common Gun Control Tactic to Mislead on “Children” and Guns

Friday, May 26, 2017

Public Health Researchers Use Common Gun Control Tactic to Mislead on “Children” and Guns

It is one of the most well-worn tactics of those who advocate for gun control. Step one, acquire statistics on firearms injuries among children ages 0-14. Step two, combine these relatively low numbers with the far greater numbers of firearms injuries involving juveniles and young adults ages 15-19. Step three, present the resulting statistics as the shocking number of “children” (ages 0-19) who are subjected to “gun violence” each day/week/month/year. Step four, use the disingenuous statistics to advocate for handgun bans/registration and licensing/storage restrictions.

This week’s iteration of this ploy comes courtesy of a team of researchers who presented their work at the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting, held May 6-9 in San Francisco, Calif. Titled, “Pediatric Hospitalizations due to Firearm Injuries in the U.S. in 2012,” the chief conclusion of report is the researchers’ contention that 16 children are hospitalized each day for firearms injuries. The researchers relied on data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Kids' Inpatient Database (KID), which tracks pediatric hospitalizations.

An eager media trumpeted the research far and wide. CNN ran the headline, “16 US children hospitalized with gunshot wounds each day, study says.” WebMD reported, “Guns Send About 16 Kids to the Hospital Every Day.” Similarly, CBS’s Philadelphia affiliate blared, “16 Kids Hospitalized Each Day For Gun Injuries, Study Finds.”

The 16 “children” a day statistic was widely disseminated by an uncritical press, but a deeper look at the abstract reveals how the researchers concocted this alarming factoid.

Juveniles and young adults ages 15-19 comprised an overwhelming 83.6 percent of the “children” hospitalized with firearm injuries in 2012. Moreover, two thirds of the injuries sustained by the individuals in this age group were the result of an assault.

Such findings might lead a rational individual to advocate for reforms to our juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. However, the abstract’s lead author, Alyssa H. Silver, has made clear that her main goal is to prevent unintentional firearms injuries among children by attacking gun ownership. In a press release, Silver stated, “Our findings add urgency to the need for preventive public health measures to reduce gun injuries in children,” adding that the research “highlights the need for improved gun safety and storage practices.”

Further, the abstract fails to put the unintentional firearms injuries Silver laments into the proper context. To their credit, CNN’s article made clear that the number of firearm injuries observed by the researchers for 2012 was roughly 20 percent lower than earlier research that used KID data from 2009. However, the article portrays Silver as dismissive of this decrease, with the researcher telling the news outlet “I think most people would agree one child being shot is too many.”

Obviously, no one wants a single child to be injured with a firearm, but Silver’s flippant remark ignores the vast progress made in preventing unintentional firearms injuries among children. The unmistakable trend revealed by data from the Centers for Disease Control is that unintentional fatal firearms injuries among children have been falling for decades, as the number of privately owned firearms has increased.

CDC data shows that in 2015, the total number and rate of unintentional firearms deaths among those ages 0-14 were tied for the lowest observed since 1981 (the earliest year for which such data is available in CDC’s WISQARS database). The rate of unintentional firearms deaths among those ages 0-14 in 2015 was less than a third of what it was in 1995, and less than a sixth of what it was in 1981. In 2015, the CDC recorded 48 unintentional firearm deaths among those ages 0-14. This a tragedy to be certain, but it is an average of .13 such deaths per day. With an estimated population of 61 million between the ages of 0-14, the likelihood of a child dying from an unintentional firearm injury is less than 1 in a million.

Conflating firearms injuries among actual children with those suffered by juveniles and young adults for political gain or notoriety has been a staple of gun control politics for over a quarter-century. While some of the less dishonest gun control groups have been shamed into changing their messaging to more accurately reflect their use of the 0-19 demographic, brazenly dishonest characterizations of firearm injuries among “children” persist. Given this record of deceit, gun owners must view any attempt to leverage our natural concern for children against our rights with the utmost skepticism.

TRENDING NOW
Kamala’s Big Problem: She’s Already Shown Us Who She Is

News  

Monday, October 28, 2024

Kamala’s Big Problem: She’s Already Shown Us Who She Is

At a town hall event on October 21 in Royal Oak, Michigan, Democrat presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris was asked how she would make “impactful and immediate progress around gun violence” if she was ...

Florida: Vote "YES" on Amendment 2 - Protect the Right to Fish & Hunt

Monday, October 21, 2024

Florida: Vote "YES" on Amendment 2 - Protect the Right to Fish & Hunt

The upcoming 2024 General Election puts forth a proposal to Florida voters on the ballot to amend the State Constitution to affirm and protect Floridians' Right to Fish and Hunt. Amendment 2 states:

Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

News  

Monday, July 29, 2024

Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

Since President Joe Biden unceremoniously dropped out, or was forced out, of the 2024 presidential race on July 21, Vice President Kamala Harris has been effectively coronated as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Kamala for Gun Confiscation: In Her Own Words

News  

Monday, September 16, 2024

Kamala for Gun Confiscation: In Her Own Words

During the September 10 presidential debate, President Donald Trump correctly highlighted Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s support for gun confiscation. A visibly defensive Harris claimed, “We're not taking anybody's guns away. So stop with the ...

Tim Walz Hunts for Voters in Outdoor Photo Op

News  

Monday, October 21, 2024

Tim Walz Hunts for Voters in Outdoor Photo Op

History shows, when anti-gun politicians take to the field, gun owners have good reason to be concerned.

Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

News  

Monday, July 29, 2024

Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

Since President Joe Biden unceremoniously dropped out, or was forced out, of the 2024 presidential race on July 21, Vice President Kamala Harris has been effectively coronated as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Kamala Harris’ Record on Gun Control and Second Amendment

News  

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Kamala Harris’ Record on Gun Control and Second Amendment

Vice President Kamala Harris has consistently campaigned for draconian gun control laws, which severely limit the rights of lawful gun owners.

Government Gaslighting: The FBI’s Crime Data Revisions

News  

Monday, October 21, 2024

Government Gaslighting: The FBI’s Crime Data Revisions

During the September 10 debate between presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, ABC News moderator David Muir purported to “fact-check” Trump’s statement that “crime in this country is through the roof,” with the contradiction ...

NRA’s Political Victory Fund Endorses President Donald J. Trump

News  

Saturday, May 18, 2024

NRA’s Political Victory Fund Endorses President Donald J. Trump

Today, the National Rifle Association's Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is honored to announce its full endorsement of President Donald J. Trump for re-election to a second term as President of the United States of America. ...

Kamala Harris Claims to Own a Glock, But Supported Handgun Bans for YOU!

News  

Monday, October 14, 2024

Kamala Harris Claims to Own a Glock, But Supported Handgun Bans for YOU!

In a lame attempt to run away from her radical anti-gun and anti-Second Amendment record, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has spent the last several weeks claiming that she is a gun owner.

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.