If you listen to proponents for gun control you’d believe that accidental gun deaths are directly correlated with the number of guns available to the public. Strangely enough, even though gun sales have been at record highs, accidental gun deaths have been falling:
Gun sales are up, and accidental gun injuries are down, according to a report released this month by the National Safety Council.
The NSC’s “Injury Facts -2017 Edition” shows a 17 percent decrease in accidents involving firearms from 2014 to 2015, a period when gun sales soared.
There were 489 unintentional firearms-related fatalities during that time period, the lowest total since record-keeping began in 1903, accounting for less than 1 percent of accident deaths. This decrease, which was the largest percentage decline of any category cited in the NSC’s report, came in a year that saw record-high firearm sales.
I’m sure the proponents of gun control will continue to claim that accidental gun deaths are rising but the truth has never been their forte. Either way, it’s nice to see the number of accidental deaths decreasing. If I were to hazard a guess I’d credit this decrease to improving firearm education.