Gun Ownership
Re “It’s Time to Reduce Injury and Death From the Use of Guns,” Valley Perspective, Feb. 25.
If gun owners agree to completion of a safety course, written and safe-use tests, criminal background checks and fingerprinting as [State Sen. Jack] Scott suggests, will they then be allowed to actually carry their weapons for the protection of themselves and their families?
Probably not.
JAMES BJORSETH
Granada Hills
* State Sen. Jack Scott argues for handgun owner licensing and safety training. In support of this approach, Scott cites the successful application of public health strategies to reduce motor vehicle deaths and injury. Unfortunately, Scott’s comparison raises more questions than answers.
The dramatic rise witnessed in motor vehicle deaths and injury during the 1950s and 1960s came at a time when all drivers were licensed and registration was commonplace. It was not until the implementation of public health strategies that focused on the product itself, and not the user (e.g., licensing), that progress was made.
This began in 1970 with creation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, implementation of comprehensive regulation of vehicle crash-worthiness and changes in the driving environment (breakaway lampposts, guard rails, etc.).
In addition, safety training for handgun buyers raises very serious concerns. A 1995 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., conducted by Harvard researcher Dr. David Hemenway, found that “individuals who have received training are more likely to keep a gun loaded and unlocked than those who have received no training. . . .” And there is certainly no evidence that safety training reduces firearm homicide or suicide.
Guns and tobacco stand alone as the only consumer products sold in America not regulated for health and safety. The car comparison is valid, not as evidence of the merits of licensing or safety training, but of the proven positive effect that comprehensive health and safety regulation would have on America’s unregulated gun industry.
KAREN BROCK
Health policy analyst
Violence Policy Center
Washington, D. C.