The headline really says it all, much to the demise of the anti-gun rally. A new report filed by the National Safety Council, an organization whose trademarked slogan reads “Eliminating Preventable Deaths,” shows that the number of fatal accidents involving firearms dropped to an all time low.
Fatal firearms accidents declined by 17 percent from 2014 – 2015 amounting to 489 deaths, the lowest recorded total since record-keeping began in 1903.
While this statistic was shrinking, the number of firearms sold was doing anything but. During the same time, firearms sales in the United States hit all-time highs, with many Americans taking up arms. In 2015, 23 million firearms had been sold followed by an increase of over 17 percent the following year to 27 million recorded gun sales.
According to our friends at the National Shooting Sports Foundation, educational programming surrounding the firearm industry is what is leading to the national decline in accidental firearm fatalities.
“This latest release from the National Safety Council shows that the vast majority of the 100 million American firearms owners meet the serious responsibilities which come with firearms ownership,” said NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti. “They store their firearms safely and securely when not in use, and follow the basic rules of firearms safety when handling them.
“The many firearms safety educational programs sponsored by the firearms industry and firearms safety instructors nationwide, such as the NSSF’s Project ChildSafe, are also part of the reason for this ever-downward trend in firearms accidents,” Sanetti added. “We will continue to work with organizations interested in genuine firearms safety to help reduce the number of firearms accidents even further in the days and years ahead.”
The #1 Cause of Unintentional Death in America
As firearm safety is on the rise and accidental deaths on the decline, it is worth noting the number one cause of unintentional death in America: unintentional poisoning. This cause of death has been rapidly increasing since the 1990’s, where prior to that, it was not prevalent. The category has been propelled to the forefront lead predominantly by accidental death caused by prescription painkillers.
While the prescription painkiller epidemic has received adequate attention as of late, perhaps this terrible trend can be addressed with as much vigor as has been applied to the anti-gun movement.