FIREARMS SAFETY
Unintentional shootings account for nearly 20 percent of all firearm-related fatalities among children ages 14 and under, compared with 3 percent for the entire U.S. population. Americans possess nearly 200 million firearms, including 65 million handguns. Approximately one-third of families with children (representing more than 22 million children in 11 million homes) keep at least one gun in the home. Gun owners keep firearms in the home for hunting and recreation (60 percent) or for protection and crime prevention (40 percent). Guns in the home for protection are more likely to be handguns, found in a home with children, and stored loaded and unlocked.
 Responsible Firearm Ownership
Anyone owning a firearm must take personal responsibility as well as full control of that firearm to ensure the safety of themselves as well as others. Misuse can easily cause serious injury or death. Be a responsible owner...protect yourself, your family and others. Assume that every firearm is loaded, don't let it fall into the wrong hands, and practice other safety precautions and laws such as: |
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 Complete the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Firearm Safety Course (Note: in Minnesota, anyone born after December 31, 1979, must have the DNR's Firearm Safety Certificate in order to hunt with firearms). |
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Know local, state and federal laws regarding the use of firearms. |
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Know how to properly handle, clean, load, lock and store your firearm. |
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Never allow a firearm to be present when drugs or alcohol are being used. |
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Never display a firearm at a social gathering. |
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Clean a firearm by yourself in a safe place and never leave it unattended even for a moment. |
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Load your firearm only when you intend to fire it. |
Storing Firearms |
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In Minnesota, it is against the law to negligently store or leave a loaded firearm where a person knows, or should reasonably know, that a child under age 18 is likely to gain access to it. Violation of this law is a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and/or a $3,000 fine. |
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Always empty the ammunition from your firearm prior to storing. |
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Use a barrel lock, trigger lock, cylinder lock or a locking firearm case, or keep your firearm in a locked gun safe. |
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Store ammunition separately, in a locked container, away from the firearm, heat and moisture. |
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Never throw ammunition in the trash. |
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Carry the keys for the gun and ammunition containers on your person at all times or keep them locked in a spot that only you know. |
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Never store a gun under a mattress or pillow, or on top of a bedside table. |
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To help ensure that your firearm does not end up in the hands of a criminal, do not store it among valuables such as jewelry where it might be stolen. |
Firearm Deaths and Injuries |
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In 2004, 63 children ages 14 and under died from unintentional firearm-related injuries. Children ages 10 to 14 accounted for 55 percent of these deaths. |
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In 2002, more than 800 children ages 14 and under were treated in hospital emergency rooms for unintentional firearm-related injuries; 35 percent of these injuries were severe enough to require hospitalization. |
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The unintentional firearm injury death rate among children ages 14 and under in the United States is nine times higher than in 25 other industrialized countries combined. |
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In 2002, nearly 8,500 children ages 14 and under were treated in hospital emergency rooms for unintentional non-powder gun-related injuries (e.g., BB guns, pellet guns). |
When and Where Firearm Deaths and Injuries Occur |
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Nearly all childhood unintentional shooting deaths occur in or around the home. Fifty percent occur in the home of the victim and nearly 40 percent occur in the home of a friend or relative. Firearm ownership in the home (especially a firearm kept loaded and unlocked) is associated with an increased risk of unintentional firearm fatalities among children. |
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Most childhood unintentional shooting deaths involve guns that have been kept loaded and accessible to children and occur when children play with loaded guns. In one recent study of parents of children ages 4 to 12, more than half of gun-owning parents reported storing a firearm loaded or unlocked in their home. |
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An estimated 3.3 million children in the United States live in households with firearms that are always or sometimes kept loaded and unlocked. |
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Unintentional shootings among children most often occur when children are unsupervised and out of school. These shootings tend to occur in the late afternoon (peaking between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.), during the weekend and during the summer months (June to August) and the holiday season (November to December). |
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More than 70 percent of unintentional firearm shootings involve handguns. |
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Rural areas have higher rates of firearm ownership and unintentional firearm-related deaths and injuries than urban and suburban areas. Shootings in rural areas are more likely to occur outdoors and with a shotgun or rifle; shootings in urban areas are more likely to occur indoors and with a handgun. |
Who is at Risk |
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Male children are far more likely to be injured and die from unintentional shootings than female children.
Of those children ages 14 and under who are killed from an unintentional shooting, 80 percent are male. |
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Children living in the South have an unintentional shooting death rate that is five times that of children living in the Northeast. |
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Nearly two-thirds of parents with school-age children who keep a gun in the home believe that the firearm is safe from their children. However, one study found that when a gun was in the home, 75 to 80 percent of first and second graders knew where the gun was kept. |
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Before age 8, few children can reliably distinguish between real and toy guns or fully understand the consequences of their actions. A recent study found that half of boys ages 8 to 12 who found a real handgun were unsure whether or not it was a toy. |
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Children as young as age 3 are strong enough to pull the trigger of many of the handguns available in the United States. |
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According to a recent study in a large metropolitan area, child access was reported as a contributing cause of 14 percent of all unintentional shootings. |
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In a recent controlled experimental study, more than 90 percent of children who found and handled a gun or pulled the trigger reported previously having some type of firearm safety instruction. |
Other Information Sources
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Division of Enforcement
Safety Training Unit
Camp Ripley, P.O. Box 148
Little Falls, MN 56345-0148
1-800-766-6000 or 1-800-366-8917
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
U.S. Public Health Service
1600 Clifton Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30333
404-639-3286
Children's Safety Network
38th and R Streets NW
Washington, DC 20057
202-625-8410
Minnesota Medical Association
3433 Broadway St. NE, #300
Minneapolis, MN 55413-1761
612-378-1875
Liaison & Public Information Division
Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF)
202-927-8500
National Rifle Association
11250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, VA 22030
703-267-1000 |
