Children and Firearm Accidents in Maryland – the Real Story
Philip F. Lee, PhD, http://www.mcrkba.org/GunAccidentContext.html, Rev. 6/14/03

        The anti-gun organization Marylanders Against Handgun Abuse (MAHA) asserted in testimony to the Maryland Senate on 3/12/02 that “Each year since 1979, unintended deaths caused by firearms has ranged between 1,225 and 2,000 nationwide …many of these victims being young children.”

        MAHA was using all accidents of all ages including hunting accidents with long guns to make these claims.  For children age 14 and younger (see table below left from http://webapp.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate9.html -- a federal government web site), the number MAHA provides is 6 times too large for the whole country.  Just 15 Maryland children (center table) have died over the 18 year period 1981 - 1998 from all firearm accidents (hunting, long gun, handgun – ALL).  Rarely are children killed in firearm accidents in Maryland.  When compared to unintentional deaths from all injuries (1852 total in the table to the right), unintentional firearm deaths averaged 0.8% (=15/1852 x 100) of this total over the period.
Unintentional Deaths in US and Maryland

        Drowning took 18 times as many lives of Maryland children as firearm accidents (table below left).  Accidents with knives and scissors took more lives (below center).  Sixteen times as many Maryland children accidentally suffocated (e.g., choked on food) as died in firearm accidents (below right).  MAHA's focus is on guns and not risks to children.

Other Unintentional Deaths

        The government data show firearm owners are responsible people who protect their children, but that isn’t what MAHA wants you to believe.  They want you to believe new laws are needed to control careless gun owners.

MAHA wants control, not safety.

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