Some interesting stats from the Childrens Defense Fund, which wants parents to get guns out
of the home, and you to stop coveting assault weapons:
2,827_child and teen deaths by firearm in one year
- More 10- to 19-year-olds die from gunshot wounds than from any other cause except motor vehicle accidents.
- Boys ages 15 to 19 are nearly nine times as likely as girls of the same age to be killed by a firearm.
- In 2003, there were more than nine times as many suicides by guns among white children and teens as among black children and teens.
- The firearm death rate for black males ages 15 to 19 is more than four times that of white males the same age.
The CDF weapons program:
- The Children’s Defense Fund calls for the support of common sense gun safety measures; congressional passage of legislation that closes the gun show loophole to criminal background checks on those purchasing guns from unlicensed dealers; and renewal of the ban on assault weapons. Parents should remove guns from their homes; organize nonviolent conflict resolution support groups in their congregations and communities; and refuse to buy video games and other products for their children that glamorize or make violence socially acceptable or fun.
Alternative: Take your child to blast away at targets at the Bullet Hole or other range. We used to. It's way fun.
