[Reblog] Gun Safety: A Public Health Perspective

Trigger lock fitted to the trigger of a revolver (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Gun Safety: A Public Health Perspective.

“statistics show that the likelihood of accidentally being shot and killed in a home with guns is much higher than in one without, or with the guns locked”

“people may claim they need assault rifles in case the government comes after them; if the government does come after them, however, it will use weapons that will overwhelm anything that a private citizen would own.”

From the 30 October 2013 blog item at charlettelobueno

The recent outbreak of mass shootings, including one that occurred on October 21 at a junior high school in Sparks, Nevada, has reignited the debate in the U.S. over gun ownership and Americans’ right to bear arms. How can incidents such as the recent one in Nevada, and the shooting that happened last December at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., be prevented in a country where the right to own a gun is constitutionally guaranteed?

The first step is addressing gun safety from a public health standpoint, using a multi-pronged approach, similar to that used to reduce the number of car accident fatalities, said Dariush Mozaffarian, an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Such an approach involves making guns safer and educating gun owners and establishing strict licensing standards and conducting thorough background checks. Public awareness campaigns about gun safety and more careful consideration of how gun violence is portrayed in popular media such as video games, movies and TV are also necessary.

A multifaceted approach is required because neither guns nor humans exist in a vacuum. A relationship exists between a human and a gun, much the way it exists between a human and a car, said Don Ihde, distinguished professor of philosophy at Stony Brook University. Ihde explained that humans plus technology, and the range of interactions that can occur between them, determine what patterns of behavior will occur.

The article continues under the headings of Safer Guns, Educating Owners, and Raising Awareness

Here is an audio clip from her interview with Dr David Hemenway:

https://soundcloud.com/clobuono13/charlottelobuonodavidhemenwa

Related articles

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• A gun issue upon which we can all agree (napavalleyregister.com)
• Poll: Americans buy guns for safety (rinf.com)
• Gun Safety Instructor Shoots Student In Ohio (huffingtonpost.com)
• Gun-Safety Bills Getting Attention at Statehouse (publicnewsservice.org)