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submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by ZeroCool@slrpnk.net to c/news@lemmy.world

At least 157 people were killed and 270 were injured last year in unintentional shootings by children, according to Everytown, an advocacy group for firearm safety.

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[-] Curious_Canid@lemmy.ca 77 points 7 months ago

This is what happens when everyone has easy access to children.

[-] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 7 points 7 months ago

The real question is, how many did they intentionally shoot and kill?

I'll see myself out

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[-] Bleach7297@lemmy.ca 38 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Make sure your kids are carrying so they can protect themselves incase some kid is carrying. 🤡

[-] ogeist@lemmy.world 13 points 7 months ago

No no, you got it wrong, give parents guns to defend against rioting children

[-] Buelldozer@lemmy.today 19 points 7 months ago

I really wish more gun owners would embrace the concept of safe storage. Unfortunately between the "Muh Rights" bozos, the ignorant, and the outright criminal there's too many opportunities for kids to come into unsupervised contact with weapons.

[-] BassaForte@lemmy.world 12 points 7 months ago

Gun owner here in support of safe storage laws. I do think the argument of "the gun should be easily accessible" is valid, only if you don't have kids or anyone that shouldn't have access living with you. But at the same time, having the gun accessible doesn't really matter unless it's literally on you 24/7.

I am for safe storage laws because I don't think the outcome would change much in favor of the gun owner, rather homes with firearms would be safer when they're not accessible by kids or people that shouldn't access them.

[-] Cethin@lemmy.zip 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Yep. The likelihood of a gun accident happening is much higher than the likelihood that you'll need and be near your firearm in a home invasion scenario. Houses are generally robbed when no one is home, and one of the most likely things stolen is your firearm. It's much more likely to still be there if it's secured properly.

Edit: Also, don't use 1776 for the combination of your gun safe. It's essentially useless if you do.

[-] SupraMario@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

The problem here is they include 15+ year olds all the way to 19 in these stats. Which 15-19 year olds are like 80% of all gang violence. So no safe storage laws are going to stop this type of violence. It's just bullshit propaganda stats from everytown.

[-] Buelldozer@lemmy.today 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

That's a normal tactic but in this case I went to the data source, Everytown, and reviewed it myself. The highest age included in their data set was 17 and there was a depressing number of children under 8 in there.

The other thing is that this data was specifically about unintentional shootings, meaning that this wasn't gang violence.

It's basically what's on the tin. Negligent and Accidental Discharges. Something that Safe Storage can help to address, especially with the younger kids.

Incidents like this.

And this.

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[-] HelixDab2@lemm.ee 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I've got some issues with safe storage laws, but they're mostly about the inadequacy of the containers that they allow for.

The quick and dirty version is that, at best, safe storage laws require a residential security container (RSC), which is not very secure. It will stop curious kids, but will not stop an older kid that has time on their hands, or is determined and willing to use a destructive attack (e.g., a prybar). If you have a hammer and a long screwdriver, you can probably open most containers that are approved under safe storage laws. An actual gun safe is expensive as fuck, starting at about $5000 and going waaaaaaaaay up; a gun safe will stop pretty much everyone except a professional thief that is personally targeting you.

But the part that really chaps my ass is that RSCs are not only expensive for how little protection they offer, but it's frustratingly hard to even figure out how to compare them against each other if they aren't UL listed. Sometimes the lock on the RSC will be listed, but not the container. Sometimes they'll have a fire rating, but won't have anything for the lock or the resistance to destructive attacks. Unless you find an expert--and there aren't many working at big box sporting goods stores--you won't have any idea what kind of protection you're paying a few thousand dollars for.

EDIT - even after all of that, a safe storage law needs to have some kind of financial incentive built in, like a $1000 tax credit for the the purchase of a container that meets state criteria. Otherwise they're going to seem unreasonably expensive to many people.

[-] bostonbananarama@lemmy.world 16 points 7 months ago

We need more good kids with guns! /s

[-] HelixDab2@lemm.ee 13 points 7 months ago

This is why you should teach gun safety to kids in schools. In the US, kids are going to find guns, because some owners are going to be lazy, careless, or just tired and not thinking straight. Things like, if you find a gun, get an adult, a gun is always loaded, even if you think you unloaded it, or never, ever point a gun at something you don't intend to shoot.

Parents should teach their kids this stuff, just like parents should be teaching their kids of sex and healthy relationships. But parents aren't, and so schools need to step into the gap.

[-] cristo@lemmy.world 9 points 7 months ago

I never understood why firearms safety classes were done away with in schools. Nearly every middle and high school had a shooting club for most of the US's history.

[-] HelixDab2@lemm.ee 5 points 7 months ago

Because guns scary bad.

And I mean that seriously.

People in urban areas--which is most of the country's population--almost exclusively experience firearms as being part of a criminal act. Most people that live in cities don't know people that hunt, or compete in marksmanship, but they hear about murders and shootings in their city all the time. Why do you need training in firearms in schools when the only use--the only use they have consistent exposure to--is criminal?

You can look at electoral maps and see this; most of the geographical area is red/Republican/conservative (typically pro-2A), while most of the population centers where people actually live are blue/Democratic/more liberal. If you went back 50 or 100 years, you'd see more people living in rural areas, which ended up meaning that there were more people that were exposed to hunting, etc.

[-] somethingchameleon@lemmy.ca 3 points 7 months ago

This is completely correct.

What's funny is, banning guns is only going to take them away from responsible gun owners.

Gangbangers in cities are still going to have their guns. But now someone on a farm who needs it for their protection isn't going to be allowed to have one? That's a load of bullshit and why gun control legislation exists solely to distract useful idiots from the real problems they face.

[-] HelixDab2@lemm.ee 4 points 7 months ago

I'm a firm believer in addressing and correcting the underlying causes of violence rather than removing the tools. For instance, Chicago had a violence intervention program a few years back, and it was having a noticeable impact on rates of violence. It was targeting at-risk kids, and helping them get their shit together. And so, predictably, the city cut the funding for it.

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[-] boogetyboo@aussie.zone 4 points 7 months ago

It's almost like normalising access to guns from a young age is part of your country's issue with shooting each other all the time.

[-] somethingchameleon@lemmy.ca 4 points 7 months ago

The issue is people who feel like they have nothing to lose taking their frustration out on society.

It's why there are other nations with comparable gun ownership rates as the US without comparable amounts of gun violence.

Congratulations, though. You're doing what the ruling class wants: squabbling over bullshit to distract you from the real issues.

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[-] John_McMurray@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

The shootings kinda started when normalization stopped. Now they all still have access but the normalcy is gone, they're a symbol of power not a tool.

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How many did those murderous little snots kill intentionally, though?

[-] RIP_Cheems@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I remember on a show (I forget what it was, but its related to court cam but with active police answering calls), and a baby (Im pretty sure it was a 3 year old) somehow got ahold of a gun, got outside of the apartment, and was aiming it a doors.

[-] Treczoks@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago

With guns that were unsecured because their owners lacked the minimum mental capacity that should be a basic requirement to own a gun in the first place.

[-] TokenBoomer@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

Don’t listen to Everytown. She cheated on her husband.

[-] Diplomjodler@feddit.de 4 points 7 months ago

The solution is obviously to try kids as adults.

[-] lurch@sh.itjust.works 4 points 7 months ago

I'll bring this up next time someone asks me why I don't have kids.

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this post was submitted on 18 Mar 2024
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