Fact: According to the National Safety Council's 1997 Accidental Fact Book, firearm misuse causes only a small number of accidental deaths in the U.S. For example, compared to accidental death from firearms, you are: |
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Eight times as likely to suffocate on a swallowed object
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Sixteen times more likely to be poisoned
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17 times more likely to die falling
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And 54 times more likely to die in an automobile accident
Fact: According to the Center for Disease Control, in 1996, there were only 21 accidental gun deaths for children under age 15. About twice as many children under the age of ten die from drowning in bathtubs.
Fact: According to the National Center for Health Statistics, and the National Spa and Pool Institute, In 1993, there were 1,334 drowning and 528 firearm-related accidental deaths from ages 0-19. Firearms outnumber pools by a factor of over 30:1. Thus, the risk of drowning in a pool is nearly 100 times higher than from a firearm-related accident for everyone, and nearly 500 times for ages 0-5.
2000 United States
Unintentional Injuries
All Ages, All Races, Both Sexes
Total Deaths: 97,900 (Source: Center for Disease Control)
| Cause of Death |
Number |
Percentage of Deaths | |
| 1. MV Traffic | 41,994 |  |
 42.9% |
| 2. Fall | 13,322 | |
13.6% |
| 3. Poisoning | 12,757 | |
13.0% |
| 4. Unspecified | 6,673 | |
6.8% |
| 5. Suffocation | 5,648 | |
5.8% |
| 6. Fire/burn | 3,487 | |
3.6% |
| 7. Drowning | 3,482 | |
3.6% |
| 8. Natural/ Environment | 1,643 | |
1.7% |
| 9. Other Transport | 1,413 | |
1.4% |
| 10. Other Land Transport | 1,412 | |
1.4% |
| 11. Pedestrian, Other | 1,272 | |
1.3% |
| 12. Other Spec., classifiable | 1,238 | |
1.3% |
| 13. Struck by or Against | 938 | |
1.0% |
| 14. Other Spec., NECN | 903 | |
0.9% |
| 15. Firearm | 776 | |
0.8% |
| 16. Machinery | 676 | |
0.7% |
| 17. Pedal cyclist, Other | 168 | |
0.2% |
| 18. Cut/pierce | 85 | |
0.1% |
| 19. Overexertion | 13 | |
0.0% |
| Total Deaths | 97,900 | ||
Fact: Medical mistakes kill 400,000 people per year – about one fully loaded jumbo jet crash per day – or about 286 times the rate of all accidental firearm deaths. This translates into 1 in 6 doctors causing an accidental death, and 1 in 56,666 gun owners doing the same.
Fact: Around 2,000 patients each year – six per day – are accidentally killed or injured in hospitals by registered nurses.