Accidental Deaths in Children Under 5 Years of Age

All statistics within this page represent national numbers. The complicated laws and disparaging manner in which records are kept in Massachusetts make it impossible to create reliable statistics just for this state.

The pie chart demonstrates that if we only include the top six categories of accidental deaths of children under 5 years of age, firearms are attributed to only 1% of them. The same chart clearing shows us that, according to the latest National Safety Council information, a child under 5 years old is...

• 45 times more likely to be killed in an automobile accident
• 26 times more likely to be killed in a drowning accident
• 21 times more likely to be killed in a fire
• 4 times more likely to be killed by mechanical suffocation
• 2.75 times more likely to be killed in a fall

than they are to be killed in an accident with a firearm (of any type). Keep in mind that these firearm accident records do not differentiate accidents that occur with illegally owned guns versus legally owned. This being the case, the numbers would be lowered substantially if the deaths attributed to crack houses, gang members, etc. were excluded.

If the National Safety Council’s information is correct, then we must assume that the ownership of automobiles, pools, flammable materials, small household items, and stairs are a far greater threat to our children than the constitutional right to own a firearm.

Surely, there will be those that will say these figures could be skewed because of the difference in the number of autos, etc. owned versus the number of firearms owned. So that we do not neglect that inevitable approach to discount these honest statistics, it is important that we remind those wishing to seriously restrain gun owners that we are told constantly that getting guns off the street will save lives. If this is indeed a solid platform to work from, then it must also be true that before we address any firearm issues, it would make far more sense to remove 44% of the automobiles from the road, close down 25% of the pools and ponds, and do something to prevent children from living in something that can burn down, etc.

All of the statistics used to create the following comparisons were taken from the National Safety Council's Injury Facts, 2000 Edition