Trigger locks kill

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Posted: November 18, 2005  By Joseph Farah © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

I just read an interesting report.

It's the latest report by the National Safety Council on accidental deaths and injuries in the workplace, home and community. [Below]

It covers the year 2003.

Here are the leading causes of accidental deaths that year:



Motor vehicles – 44,800
Falls – 16,200
Poisonings – 13,900
Chokings – 4,300
Drownings – 2,900
Fires, flames and smoke – 2,600
Suffocations – 1,200

I looked through pages and pages of this document to find out about the horror of accidental shooting deaths. I also looked in supplemental material associated with the report.

I could find nothing.

One has to assume that they are so few and far between that they are statistically irrelevant.

Yet this is not what we are led to believe by the gun-control fanatics who continue to promote trigger locks as a "safety" measure.

Just last month, for instance, the U.S. Congress approved a bill that would require licensed gun dealers to supply a trigger-lock device with every handgun sold in America.


I had imagined that an act of Congress of this kind would have been precipitated by thousands of accidental shooting deaths in any given year. This does not appear to be the case. In fact, if the latest detailed report of the National Safety Council is any indication, there are virtually no accidental shooting deaths taking place. There is no mention of them in the report. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

That's great news. You would think it would be cause for celebration.

So why the continuing, unrelenting pressure to promote trigger locks – which will certainly result in the deaths of many innocent people who are unable to defend themselves because of a trigger lock? Why are those who buy firearms for protection now paying extra for trigger locks that could, if used, counteract the very purpose for which the weapon was obtained?

About 1 million Americans use a firearm to defend themselves from criminals every year. They don't necessarily discharge the gun. But they at least brandish one to fend off attack. Hundreds of thousands of times a year, law-abiding citizens fire guns at bad guys in the defense of their lives and property.

Trigger locks deter the kind of quick response needed to use those firearms effectively in such situations. You won't catch me using one.


But, slowly, inevitably, national, state and local policies are pushing us closer to mandatory trigger locks.

Imagine the day we actually have a universal trigger lock law in place.

Let's assume just 1 percent of the 1 million people who use firearms every year to defend themselves are unable to deactivate the lock in time and die as a result.

That's 10,000 deaths.

Let's assume the number of accidental gun deaths right now is somewhere between 100 on the low side and 1,000 on the very high side.

Why would we want to trade 100 or 1,000 lives for 10,000?

It seems to me that's what the trigger-lock fanatics want.

In fact, it could be a lot worse. I would dare say that the more widespread trigger-lock use becomes, the higher the death toll of innocent people.

Trigger locks don't save lives. They take them.

That's why we should not be encouraging their use. We should be discouraging them – except in rare circumstances. There are appropriate uses for them – particularly with firearms not maintained for use in self-defense.

But since the overwhelming number of handguns are purchased for precisely this reason, trigger locks make no sense.




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Report on Injuries in America, 2003
Deaths and injuries in the workplace, home and community, and on roads and highways.
(Data from Injury Facts®, 2004 Edition)

The Problem
Overall Unintentional Injury Deaths: 2003

Number of deaths: 101,500. (The highest death total was 116,385 in 1969 and the lowest recent death total was 86,777 in 1992—the lowest since 1924.)
There were about 27 million visits to hospital emergency departments for injuries. About 20.7 million injuries resulted in temporary or permanent disability.
A fatal injury occurs every 5 minutes and a disabling injury occurs every 1.6 seconds.
Wage losses, medical expenses, property damage, employer costs, fire losses and other expenses related to fatal and nonfatal unintentional injuries cost Americans an estimated $607.7 billion in 2003. That's equal to about $5,700 for each household on average.
The Problem Viewed by Cause of Death
Leading Causes of Unintentional Injury Deaths United States, 2003
Motor Vehicle 44,800
Falls 16,200
Poisoning 13,900
Choking 4,300
Drowning 2,900
Fires, flames, and smoke 2,600
Suffocation 1,200

Falls are the leading causes of nonfatal unintentional injuries treated in hospital emergency departments (7.0 million visits) followed by motor-vehicle crashes (4.6 million visits).
Falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injury for all age groups except males age 15-24 (for whom ‘struck by or against an object or person’ was the leading cause of injury).
Males have a higher rate of injury-related ER visits than females.
Males between the ages of 15-24 had the highest rate of injury-related ER visits for males.
Women over age 75 had the highest rate of injury-related ER visits for females.
Where Injuries Occur
In the Workplace

There were 4,500 workplace fatalities due to unintentional injuries.
There were 3.2 deaths per 100,000 workers.
On the job, 3.4 million American workers suffered disabling injuries.
Motor vehicle crashes accounted for 2,000 of the 4,500 workplace fatalities.
The agriculture industry accounted for 710 deaths and 110,000 disabling injuries. Agriculture workers had the second highest death rate among the industry divisions.
Work injuries cost Americans $156.2 billion. That amounts to $1,120 per worker.
Nearly 9 out of 10 deaths and about two thirds of the disabling injuries suffered by American workers occurred off-the-job.
Recommendations for Reducing Workplace Deaths and Injuries

Greater educational effort by American companies with their work forces is needed to help reduce the rate of off-the-job deaths and injuries.
The Council recommends increased efforts for construction zone safety on both sides of the barricades.
Every company or organization should have a strict safety belt policy that requires all employees to buckle up while on the job.
All workplaces should operate with a comprehensive safety and health plan and address security issues that can prevent workplace violence.
In the Home and Community

54,400 fatalities occurred in the home and community or 54% of all injury-related deaths.
There were 15 million disabling injuries.
About 1 out of 19 people experience an unintentional injury in their home or community each year.
About 35% of deaths and disabling injuries involve workers off the job.
In the home there is a fatal injury every 16 minutes and a disabling injury every 4 seconds.
The four leading causes of fatal injury in the home and community are falls; poisoning; choking; drowning; and fires, flames and smoke.
The leading cause of death in the home, poisoning, took the lives of 11,200 people. This number includes deaths from drugs, medicines, other solid and liquid substances, and gases and vapors. The 25 to 44 age group had the highest death rate.
Total deaths from falls for those 65 and older was 12,900. Of those, 7,500 occurred in the home and 2,500 in a residential setting.
Of those who survive a fall, 20-30 percent will suffer debilitating injuries that affect them the rest of their lives.
Smoke inhalation accounts for a majority of deaths in home fires.
21,300 injury-related fatalities occurred in public places or places used in a public way (not including motor vehicles). Most sports, recreation and transportation deaths are included. This number excludes work-related deaths.
There is a public fatal injury every 25 minutes and a disabling injury every 4 seconds.
The four leading fatal causes of death in public places are falls, poisoning, drowning, and choking (suffocation by ingestion or inhalation of food or object).
People 65 and over suffer more than half of the fatalities in public injuries.
The death rate from public falls among those 75 and older is 10 times greater than any other age group.
Recommendations to Reduce Deaths and Injuries in the Home and Community

Take steps to reduce the risk of falls in homes, especially in homes where older people live or visit.
Check prescriptions regularly to guard against unintentional overdose.
Check smoke detector batteries regularly and develop and practice a fire escape plan.
Conduct test to detect the presence of lead, radon or carbon monoxide, and take steps to eliminate those health and safety risks.
Communities should provide access to safe walking areas including safe walking routes to school.
Communities should increase awareness recreational safety. Injuries while boating, biking, inline skating or other recreational sports can be reduced with increased consumer education.
Finally, the Council recommends that all adults learn CPR and first aid techniques to give assistance if any injury does occur.
On Roads and Highways

A death caused by a motor vehicle crash occurs every 12 minutes; a disabling injury occurs every 13 seconds.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people ages 6 to 33.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers.
The age groups most affected by motor vehicle crashes are 15-24 and 75+.
There were an estimated 5,600 pedestrian deaths and 80,000 injuries.
There is an alcohol-related traffic death every 30 minutes and a nonfatal injury every 2 minutes.
Bicycling resulted in about 700 deaths in collisions with motor vehicles.
Recommendations for Reducing Motor-Vehicle Deaths and Injuries

Enact primary seat belt laws nationwide.
Enact state graduated licensing laws. Graduated licensing laws allow novice drivers to gain critical experience behind the wheel in lower risk settings before driving in more difficult environments.
Make certain children are properly buckled in age-appropriate safety seats. Child safety seats reduce fatal injury by 71% for infants less than 1 year old and by 54% for children 1 - 4 years old.
http://www.nsc.org/library/report_injury_usa.htm