Posted on 04/05/2002 3:26:03 AM PST by rw4site
TAKE a moment to consider the safety of different products you use and rely upon.
Your car? Side impact panels would not be tested for resiliency without the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration. Your lunch hamburger? The beef would not be inspected for bacteria without the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Your child's new doll or action figure? Warnings about small parts would not be on the packaging without the governance of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
But your gun? No federal agency has the authority to ensure that guns manufactured and sold to consumers are safe. What does this mean? No federal health and safety agency has the authority to recall defective firearms or force changes in design. For example, reported cases of Remington Arms Co.'s Model 700 bolt-action rifle have indicated that the rifle may unintentionally discharge when the safety is released. It has been involved in at least 100 death and injury claims and thousands of malfunction complaints.
There also is no way to prevent the introduction of firearms into the civilian market that pose a serious threat to public safety, such as .50 cal. sniper rifles. These high-caliber, long-range sniper rifles were designed for military use and are capable of shooting down aircraft and penetrating armor. Yet they are available for sale to 18 year-olds, making them easier to buy than handguns.
What are the consequences of an unregulated industry? In 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 28,000 Americans died by firearms, giving guns the infamous distinction as the second leading cause of product-related death behind motor vehicles. Even more disturbing, firearms are the second leading cause of death overall for children ages 15 to 19 and the third leading cause of death for children ages 10 to 14.
While our children are dying and suffering traumatic injuries, we continue to allow the gun industry to design and manufacture increasingly lethal products.
Texas does not escape this calamity. More than 2,100 Texans died by guns in 1999. according to the Texas Department of Health; of these victims, more than 250 were children aged 19 and younger. While most firearm-related deaths in both Texas and the nation are suicides, more teens and children die by firearm-related homicide than gun-related suicide or unintentional shootings.
What types of guns are often involved in youth shootings? Cheap, poorly designed handguns, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' Crime Gun Trace Reports. Numerous examples exist of dangerously flawed firearms, yet without a nationwide system to track details about gun death and injury, effective intervention and sound public policy remain unlikely.
It's time to close the gap between the standards we hold for teddy bears and guns, for the public health's sake.
Damn! Guns are designed for killing.
My solution to the "children killing children" problem is to remove all their fingers at birth. Oh! they already do that for many, it's called abortion. Hmmm, that must be "adults killing children."
That's because there is no amendment in the constitution for teddy bears.
However, I would support one: A well fed, changed toddler being necessary to the happiness of mommy and daddy, the right of little Jimmy to keep and bear his teddy bear "Boo", shall not be infringed.
Umm, Chris, just HOW have .50 caliber rifles been a "serious threat to public safety"? C'mon baby, let's see the numbers.
The guy's a twit.
19 year old "children"? Just out of curiosity, what was the minimum service age for WWII and Vietnam?
They forgot alcohol. Isn't that a product? What about the scurge of TOBACCO??????? I thought that it killed MILLIONS, even BILLIONS every year? PS - you forgot the BARF alert.
5.56mm
Apparently they haven't heard that we have the right to keep and arm bears.
I thought the latest "Truth" ad had it up to 18 quadrillion.
Unregulated? HAR! It is one of the most highly regulated industries.
The finest education that liberal academia has to offer. He's a shining example of the unthinking drones being churned out by our institutions of "higher learning."
No matter what regulations/restrictions are placed on legal gun ownership it won't change the plethera of illegal guns.
I guess it's only right that criminals be allowed to carry guns while law abiding tax paying citizens can't. After all they have rights.
As if Iwould want a less lethal firearm.
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