Iowans For the Prevention of Gun Violence

Before going to the school, the teenager shot and killed his grandfather and his grandfather’s female friend. The guns used in the shooting were owned by his grandfather, who was an officer with the Red Lake Police Department.

Following the shooting, people asked the usual questions. Why did the teenager go on a shooting spree? What were his motives? How could this tragedy have been prevented? And predictably, gun rights advocates argued that if the security guard and teachers had been armed, they could have prevented the massacre.

It cannot be denied that guns have been used in self-defense or to protect another person. And one can always speculate that if the security guard or teachers had been armed, they might have been able to stop the killing.

Should we conclude from this incident that if every one were armed, we would all be safer? If you think so, think again.

The fact is that while mass shootings such as the recent school shooting in Minnesota receive widespread national news coverage, such incidents are relatively rare in the universe of gun violence. Most gun deaths are single victim shootings that receive little national attention. On average, 82 Americans die from gunshot wounds each day in the U.S. and another 200 are injured in nonfatal shootings. If March 21 was a typical day in the U.S., 72 Americans, in addition to the 10 at Red Lake, also died from gunshot wounds on that day. More Americans are killed by guns each day in the U.S. than the number of U.S. solders killed in Iraq in a month by all means.

Given the easy availability of firearms to virtually anyone in the U.S., we are all at risk of random gun violence when ever we go to public places – restaurants, shopping malls, theaters, sporting events, parks, churches, and schools. There is little we can do about it. (It should be noted that this risk is reduced when we go to the Iowa State Capitol Building because firearms are not allowed in the Capitol, except by law enforcement officers.)

However, at home, we can take steps to reduce our risk to gun death and injury. Study after study has shown that the presence of firearms in the home increases the risk of death and injury to family members. A 1998 study published in the Journal of Trauma (Kellerman AL, “Injuries and Deaths Due to Firearms in the Home,” Aug., 1998) found that guns kept in the home are 22 times more likely to be used to shoot a family member than a criminal intruder in self defense. During the study period, for every time a gun in the home was used in a self-defense or legally justifiable shooting, there were four unintentional shootings, seven homicides or attempted homicides, and eleven suicides or attempted suicides involving family members.

To put the results of this study into perspective, consider the following analogy using airplanes as an example. Everyone knows that if the wings fall off an airplane, the airplane will crash and everyone on the airplane dies. Suppose an airplane manufacturer were to design a “big parachute” so that if the wings fell off the airplane, the parachute would deploy, lowering the airplane to the ground and everyone lives. But there is one caveat. If the parachute deploys inadvertently, it will cause the airplane to crash and everyone dies. Should the manufacturer install the parachute on its airplanes (assuming cost and other factors are not a consideration)?

The correct answer is that not enough information has been given to answer the question. It depends on the probability of the wings falling off the airplane versus the probably of the parachute deploying inadvertently.

Now, what if I told you that it was 22 times more likely that the parachute will deploy inadvertently causing a crash than the wings will fall off the airplane. Should the manufacturer install the parachute?

Now the answer is easy. Absolutely not. Because for every time the parachute would deploy as intended saving the lives of the passengers, it would cause 22 crashes where everyone dies. Would you choose to fly on an airplane equipped with a parachute safety system that was 22 times more likely to kill you than protect you? I wouldn’t. And I wouldn’t want members of my family to fly on such an airplane either.

I don’t like the odds. I would rather take my chances on an airplane without a parachute. Owning a firearm is a choice in the U.S. Persons who choose to bring firearms into their homes should know the risks to family members and take appropriate actions. IPGV considers that the safest thing for parents with children living in the home is to not store guns in the home. If you keep a gun in the home, then make sure that the gun and ammunition are locked up and stored separately.