Anti-Gun Foundation Suggests Eliminating
Firearms Safety Programs
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"...[P]roposing shifting
resources away from safety education programs is extremely reckless..." |
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A recent "study" put together by a collection of anti-gun "researchers,"
and funded by a foundation with a long anti-gun history, has come to the
shocking and dangerous conclusion that programs that teach children how
to be safe when firearms are present are ineffective and should be
abandoned.
The David and Lucille Packard Foundation has funded several
biased, anti-gun studies in the past, and provided significant financial
support to the anti-gun extremist organization, the
"Million Mom March"
(MMM). The MMM, you will recall, is the organization that staged a
Mother's Day rally in Washington, D.C., in 2000 (drawing closer to
100,000 participants, rather than its promised million), and was
absorbed by the gun-ban lobby formerly known as HCI the following year,
after suffering a near catastrophic financial collapse. The list of
anti-gun "researchers" included in the "study," coupled with the source
of the funding, should be enough to tell most clear-thinking individuals
that this latest effort was intended simply as another vehicle to
promote the same anti-gun policies that have been championed for many
years by the gun-ban movement.
The Packard report makes nine recommendations, most of which would
curtail the freedom of law-abiding citizens, while saying absolutely
nothing about those who criminally misuse guns. The report's conclusions
range from being extremely predictable to potentially life-threatening.
It is expected, of course, to see anti-gun "researchers" conclude that
firearms, although already one of the most regulated products in
America, should be made subject to increased regulation. In fact,
contrary to the Foundation's suggestion that the manufacture,
distribution, and sale of firearms is somehow lacking in any sort of
control, the industry is already strictly regulated.
- Gun makers are
subject to numerous national regulations promulgated by BATF, which are
detailed in 152 pages of very small type, and the firearm industry must
comply with countless federal, state, and local laws.
- Manufacturing
standards are reviewed by the FBI, the U.S. Customs Service, other
public and private agencies-even the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
- Industry standards are set by the
Sporting Arms and Ammunition
Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI), an organization that was created at the
request of the federal government in 1926.
- SAAMI, an accredited
standards developer for the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI), currently publishes more than 700 standards related to firearm
and ammunition safety and quality which are reviewed by outside parties.
In addition, there are approximately 20,000 laws currently in effect
that regulate firearms.
But the most shocking aspect of this release is its attack on safety
programs for children. Accidental fatalities involving firearms among
children are at an all-time low, and have been decreasing for decades.
And while most experts attribute this trend to an increase in programs
that teach children how to act safely around firearms (e.g.,
NRA's Eddie
Eagle GunSafe® Program, which has delivered its safety message to more
than 16 million children), the authors of the "study" claim such
programs "are of limited effectiveness." An NRA spokesman defended Eddie
Eagle, telling the Washington Post, "It is widely taught to children and
widely acclaimed, and we're confident it is an effective program."
The National Shooting Sports Foundation's (NSSF)
Paul Erhardt dismissed
the Packard Foundation's "study," saying it "doesn't pass the reality
test." An NSSF release
responding to last week's anti-gun propaganda
pointed to an analysis from last year by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention's (CDC) Firearms Injury Surveillance Study for 1993 -
1997. The CDC data show that, not only are accidental fatalities at an
all-time low, but there has been a dramatic decrease in non-fatal
firearm-related injuries for all age categoriesincluding children and
adolescents. Erhardt asked the Post, "If safety education doesn't work,
how come the numbers of injuries and deaths are going down?"
It is unlikely the Packard Foundation's position opposing gun-safety
programs will be supported by anyone but the truly anti-gun. HCI's
Michael Barnes, for example, praised the conclusions of his cohorts in
the anti-gun movement, and told the Washington Post his gun-ban lobby
had "abandoned its child education program." But even proposing shifting
resources away from safety education programs is extremely reckless. HCI
may have "abandoned its child education program" - likely after nobody
expressed any real interest in it because it was more anti-gun
propaganda than safety instruction - but NRA, along with those truly
concerned about keeping firearm ownership safe and legal, will continue
to promote our own life-saving programs.
The bottom line is that this "study" is merely designed to promote an
agenda aimed at restricting access to firearms by law-abiding,
responsible citizens by proposing that "laws regarding gun sales should
be tightened." It also suggests the design of firearms be left in the
hands of bureaucrats and the anti-gun community.
Perhaps the most dangerous and disturbing conclusion of the Foundation
is the ridiculous notion that firearm safety programs have "limited
effectiveness." Should any policy makers take this outrageous position
to heart, and should this lead to the abandonment of even one firearm
safety program, it could quite easily lead to the tragic loss of life
because a child was not exposed to an important safety message.
Related Stories...
More About The Gun-Ban Lobby
HCI Losing Touch With Reality? (Jun 2002)
Growing Rift in Anti-Gun Community? (Apr 2002)
Young Gun Control Activist Arrested in Drug Bust (Mar 2002)
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