Peter was a rising sophomore at his high school in Maryland. He never made it. While visiting a relative's house, he and his cousins found a handgun locked away in a bedroom. Another young boy pulled the trigger and Peter was shot in the head and killed.
This is not an uncommon story in America. About 300 children die each year from gun-related accidents in our homes. Of course, no one thinks that this could possibly happen in their home. The owner of the home where Peter died didn't think so either. His guns were securely locked away in an upstairs bedroom. The key to the room was hidden high on a shelf in the closet of a second room. But the kids found the key. Then they found the gun.
About 35 percent of American households with children keep guns in their homes. According to the Children's Defense Fund, in the 30 years between 1979 and 2009, 116,385 children and teens in America have died from guns. That's an average of 3,880 children per year. Another 15,000 children are injured by guns each year.
David Hemenway, Director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, found that while many gun owners say they keep a gun at home to protect themselves and their families, the risk of accidental death for children actually increases significantly within these homes. Moreover, Hemenway found "no credible evidence of a deterrent effect of firearms or that a gun in the home reduces the likelihood or severity of injury during an altercation or break-in."
In fact, a study published in the Southern Medical Journal found that "a gun in the home is 12 times more likely to result in the death of a household member or visitor than an intruder."
Research shows that children, especially teens, commit suicide at significantly higher rates within homes where there is a gun available. The Southern Medical Journal found that "the most common cause of deaths occurring at homes where guns are present, by far, is suicide." Also, they added, "Many of these self-inflicted gunshot wounds appear to be impulsive acts by people without previous evidence of mental illness."
Both the Southern Medical Journal study and Hemenway's research found that violence against women is significantly higher in homes with guns. Their research points to a fivefold increase in women murdered by their spouse or partner within homes with guns.
While men are more likely to be shot outside of their homes, the most common place for a woman to be shot and killed is in her home.
Then there are the financial costs to our love-affair with guns. "Firearm-related violence vastly increases expenditures for health care, services for the disabled, insurance and our criminal justice system," writes Steven Lippmann of The University of Louisville. And, he added, "The bills are paid by taxpayers and those who buy insurance."
Contrary to the NRA's assertion that in order to keep our children safe we need more guns in schools, according to FBI crime statistics children are safer in schools than any other place, including their own homes.
Schools are generally safe places for our children because most of them are gun-free zones. Only when people bring guns into schools do they become dangerous places for our children.
There are many other nations in the world that have higher rates of mental illness.
There are countries where children play more violent video games.
Only in America, however, are these and other variables combined with 200 million guns sitting in our homes and waiting to be used.